LECTURES ON 

THE TABERNACLE 



BY 

S. RIDOUT 

Author of "How to Study the Bible," "The Pentateuch, 
" The Gospels," etc., etc. 



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LOIZEAUX BROTHERS, Inc., Bible Truth Depot 

A Non-Profit Organization, Devoted to the Lord's Work 
and to the spread of His Truth 

19 West 21st Street - - - New York 10, N. Y, 






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First Edition, 1914 
Sixth Printing, 1952 



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6-JUNl» 



PRINTED IN U.S.A. 



Introductory Note 



THE following pages are an endeavor to set forth, 
with some degree of fulness, the typical teach- 
ings of the Tabernacle. They embody therefore not 
only what it is hoped will be suggestive for more 
advanced students, but the elements, familiar to 
many, which are needed to give anything like a 
complete survey. 

Being in lecture form, there is more or less of the 
colloquial style, which it is hoped will make the 
book more easily read. The writer makes no 
apology for what may be called the devotional tone 
— how can we fail to be stirred with such a theme ? 

Setting forth as it does the person and work of 
our Lord Jesus Christ, the Tabernacle occupies typi- 
cally the centre of all doctrinal truth, as it did liter- 
ally the centre of Israel's camp. It is necessary 
therefore that in anything like a full examination 
of its meaning there should be a full discussion of 
those great doctrines which it typifies. This will 
explain the good measure of detail in the treatment 
of those doctrines. In days when they are being so 
largely denied, this is surely not out of place. 

Thanks are due to Mr. John Bloore for his excel- 
lent illustrations of the tabernacle and its furniture ; 
made especially for this work, and in which great 
care has been taken to follow the exact text of 
Scripture. 

That the Lord will bless this effort to set forth 
the glories of His beloved Son, is the prayer of the 
writer. 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

Tabernacle in the Wilderness Frontispiece 

Facing page 

The Holy Place 135 

The Ark 240 

The Table of Showbread 292 

The Lampstand 319 

The Altar of Incense 352 

The Altar of Burnt-Offering 408 

The Laver and his Foot 444 

The Court 472 



Contents 



Lecture Page 

L— With Whom does God Dwell ? .... 7 

II.— God's Dwelling-place 23 

The Building of the Tabernacle 

III. — The Linen Curtains and Colors . . . . 40 
IV. — The Linen Curtains : their Dimensions, etc. 72 

V.— The Covering of Goats' Hair 95 

VI. — The Earns' and Badgers' skins Coverings 114 

VII.— The Boards— the Acacia Wood .... 135 

VIII.— The Gold upon the Wood ...... 161 

IX.— The Sockets and the Boards 179 

X.— The Veil and the Entrance 216 

XL— The Ark 240 

XII.— The Mercy-seat . 267 

XIII.— The Table 292 

XIV.— The Candlestick 319 

XV.— The Golden Altar 352 

XVI.— The Anointing Oil ... . 387 

XVII. — The Altar of Burnt-offering . . . . .408 

XVIII.— The Laver 444 

XIX.— The Court 472 

XX.— The Way of Approach to God . . . . 496 



Lectures on the Tabernacle 



LECTURE I 

WITH WHOM DOES GOD DWELL? 



Eead Exod. 12:12,13; 13:1,2; 14:21,22; 16:16-18; 
20:1-3; 33:12-14; 35:1-3. 



IT is always instructive in taking up any subject 
in Scripture to see its connection. We will, 
therefore, if the Lord enable, do this in connec- 
tion with that which speaks of His dwelling-place 
among men. The Tabernacle was, we might say, 
the centre of His manifestation to His earthly peo- 
ple, Israel. About it their camp in the wilderness 
was grouped, and in connection with it their 
journeys were taken. When they reached the 
Land, there too God's order was established in 
connection with it. We will therefore glance at 
the condition of the people when God gave them 
the Tabernacle. 

If this is important in looking at the literal 



8 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

history of Israel, how much more so is it when 
we remember of whom and of what it was a type 
for all time. Let us then take up these seven 
scriptures, which recall to our minds the seven 
great facts there set forth. 

God loves to dwell, and can only dwell, amidst 
the praises of His people. He can only abide 
where He is known ; and He can only be known 
on the ground of redemption. In the first chap- 
ter of Romans, we see that those who had the 
witness of " His eternal power and Godhead " in 
His works of creation, which were all about 
them, were blinded and darkened in their minds. 
Professing themselves to be wise, they became 
fools, and ended by being engulfed in all man- 
ner of idolatry and abominable lusts. 

If we are to know God, it must be on the basis 
of His own revelation, according to His nature, 
which is true and righteous. Therefore in deal- 
ing with sinful, guilty man, He must reveal Him- 
self as supremely righteous and holy — a God of 
justice, whatever else He may have to say. 
Blessed be His holy name, He has more than 
that to say, for that could only condemn us to 
perpetual banishment from Himself, in the outer 
darkness. That forms the dark background upon 
which shines out in all its lustre the mercy of 
God as revealed in Christ Jesus, His person and 
His work. That is suggested in the passages we 
have referred to. 



With whom does God dwell? 9 

i. The first scripture (Ex. 12: 12, 13) reminds 
us that His people have been sheltered from a 
justly-deserved judgment. God can only dwell 
in the midst of a sheltered people. Otherwise 
they are yet under judgment in common with all 
the rest of mankind, just as Israel was under 
judgment in common with all the people of 
Egypt, until God provided the lamb and directed 
that its blood should be sprinkled upon the lin- 
tels and door-posts of their habitations. 

How all this speaks of Him who is the " Lamb 
without blemish and without spot" (1 Pet. 1 : 19), 
who was "made sin" upon the cross, that He 
might provide a shelter for the guilty! How His 
saints love to dwell upon it! Had God's long- 
suffering terminated in judgment, there would 
be nothing but the blackness of darkness for- 
ever. But in His love He provided a perfect 
shelter from all the wrath and judgment de- 
served, even while they were in Egypt, the place 
of servitude to sin. God does not ask the sinner 
first to take a single step in His ways, but takes 
him where and as he is, and provides a perfect 
shelter through the precious blood of Christ. 

When that precious blood has been appropri- 
ated by faith (the tiny hyssop, with which it was 
applied to their dwellings, Ex. 12:22, speaks of true 
self-judgment before God, the confession of guilt 
and unworthiness), God's declaration is: "When 
I see the blood, I will pass over you." We have 



10 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

His provision in the blood of Christ, and His 
assurance in His own word that those who are 
sheltered by that blood are forever delivered 
from judgment to come. His people are not 
looking forward to some time in the future for 
salvation, or waiting for something to be done 
in themselves before they can have settled peace 
with God, but they can say they have accepted 
the shelter which God has provided. " The blood 
shall be to you for a token upon the houses 
where ye are, and when I see the blood I will 
pass over you." 

2. Having seen that believers are a sheltered 
people, the next scripture (Ex. 13: 1, 2) shows 
them to us as a purchased people. When judg- 
ment stalked through the land of Egypt, Israel 
was safely sheltered by a God-given protection, 
and the very blood that sheltered was also the 
purchase-price for them. " Sanctify unto Me all 
the first-born." Or, as we have it in the New 
Testament, "Ye are not your own, for ye are 
bought with a price, therefore glorify God in 
your body" (1 Cor. 6: 20). Thank God, His peo- 
ple are not only set free from judgment and the 
fear of wrath, but they have been purchased out 
from Satan's servitude and from sin. Best of 
all, they are not their own masters. Paul de- 
lighted to style himself ever, "The bond-servant 
of Jesus Christ." It was a badge of the highest 
honor to be Christ's purchase. We are a company 



With whom does God dwell? 11 

of servants, and can glory in a bondage which is 
complete liberty, to be absolutely for God, the 
purchase of His perfect love, by the most pre- 
cious blood of Christ. The value which God sets 
upon us is seen in the price paid. God looks 
upon us and says, as it were, " These are My 
people/' Look at a poor, wretched sinner who 
has received Christ. Such an one is of but little 
worth in the world's estimation, but God declares: 
" He is precious in My sight, the purchase of the 
blood of Mine own Son." 

3. The third scripture (Ex. 14: 21, 22) speaks 
of a different line of truth. The first two scrip- 
tures spoke of what was true for Israel even in 
Egypt — just as the Good Samaritan came to the 
place where the robbed and wounded man lay, 
and there poured in the healing oil and wine, 
God came down to His people in Egypt, but He 
did not leave them there. The word that told 
them of safety, and that they were His, gave 
them marching orders also to leave the place of 
their servitude. They are to go forth servants to 
God, but free from all else. Not only was Israel 
free from the bondage of Pharaoh, but from the 
very place where he had held them. This world, 
for the believer, is no longer Egypt but the wil- 
derness, a place of pilgrimage, and the inher- 
itance that attracts him is * * the glory of all 
lands " — the i ' land flowing with milk and honey. " 
So the third great fact is that the Lord's people 



12 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

are delivered from bondage to sin, to Satan, and 
the world. May we all practically know the 
blessedness of this. 

What a gospel it is which thus proclaims de- 
liverance to the captives as well as forgiveness 
of sins! What slavery, what galling chains are 
those of sin! Who that has served that master 
in the brick-kilns of sin — " serving divers lusts 
and pleasures " (Titus 3: 3) — but knows the aw- 
ful bondage of it. There are " pleasures of sin," 
but they are only "for a season " (Heb. 11: 25), 
and afterwards the eternal wrath of a holy and 
sin-hating God, and the eternal gnawings of an 
awakened conscience are its recompense. Even 
for the believer, that bondage makes him cry 
out, "Oh wretched man that I am! Who shall 
deliver me?" (Rom. 7: 24). And the gracious, 
loving answer from the word of God is, 4 ' Through 
Jesus Christ our Lord." "Sin shall not have 
dominion over you: for ye are not under law but 
under grace" (Rom. 6: 14). God has thus de- 
clared that sin has no more title over His people ! 
The blood of Christ has settled that question. 
But have we answered to God's deliverance ? We 
cannot enter into the joys of God's dwelling 
among us unless we know something of what it is 
to be delivered from the power and thraldom 
of sin. 

Let us see how perfectly the type answers to 
the deliverance of the people of God from sin. 



With whom does God dwell? 13 

The children of Israel had come to the shores of 
the Red Sea. It is a desert place, with mountains 
on either side ; it left no apparent way of escape 
from Pharaoh who has recovered from his recent 
terror under the judgment of God, and has 
gathered his hosts to pursue after and bring them 
back into servitude. What could they do ? Behind 
them is their relentless enemy, they are shut in on 
either side, and before them are the waters of 
the Red Sea. All they can do is to cry to God. 
And when did He ever fail to respond to His 
people's cry ? He opened the way for them, not 
by first overthrowing Pharaoh, but by dividing 
the sea asunder. Those waves of death are 
parted at the presence of the rod which had 
brought the plagues upon Egypt, and a way is 
opened through the sea. 

A young convert starts off on the pilgrim jour- 
ney, but sin begins to reassert itself, to pursue 
after him. It so easily besets; and the first thing 
he knows, he hears the familiar demands of the 
old masters requiring return to their servitude. 
What is he to do ? There seems to be absolutely 
no way for him ahead. He looks at his own 
strength and sees that he is utterly powerless to 
overcome sin. There is no way of escape on the 
right hand or the left. The death and judgment 
deserved by sin loom darkly in front. 

Here comes in the precious fact that in Christ's 
death he has died with Him. The way is open 



14 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

through Christ's death and resurrection. He has 
gone out of this world where sin reigns (though 
it never had the slightest power over Him), and 
by His death has opened the only way for His 
own. They are risen with Him, as they have also 
died with Him. They are therefore at liberty to 
reckon themselves "dead indeed unto sin, and 
alive unto God, through Jesus Christ our Lord " 
(Rom. 6 : n). Here is where triumph begins; 
the one who had been groaning under fear of 
bondage can take up the song of triumph : ' ' Sing 
unto the Lord, for He hath triumphed gloriously: 
the horse and his rider hath He thrown into the 
sea" (Ex. 15: 1). 

Those who know this practically are a people 
who are now in the wilderness, pilgrims whose 
faces are not set backward to what is behind 
but forward toward the inheritance — the mount 
of God, where He will reveal all the treasures of 
His love stored up for us in Christ in glory. Only 
to such a people, delivered from trifling with 
sin and the world, can God reveal the further 
truths of His word. May He give us true exer- 
cise as to these things. 

4. This brings us to the fourth scripture (Ex. 
16: 16-18), which tells us of God's provision for 
His people in the wilderness — the Manna from 
heaven and the water out of the Rock. Bread 
was given them, and their water was sure. The 
wilderness is a dry and thirsty land, with nothing 



With whom does God dwell? 15 

in it naturally to sustain, and yet God brought 
that mighty host through the desert for forty 
years, to His inheritance; and at the close, He 
could ask them whether they had lacked any- 
thing. Their garments had not waxed old; their 
feet had not swelled (Deut. 8: 4). God was, and 
ever is, as good as His word. 

It is Christ who is the food of His people, and 
the Spirit of God flowing through the smitten 
Rock— "that Rock was Christ " (1 Cor. 10 : 4)— 
supplying refreshment from the word of God to 
sustain us. Christ is not known by the world, 
but He is the " Bread of God who came down 
from heaven," humbled even unto death, to be 
the food of His people day by day according to 
their need — Bread of the mighty that will carry 
them as victors through the wilderness and bring 
them fresh to the end of their journey. 

5. We pass next to that at which we must look 
somewhat carefully, the truth embodied in our 
fifth scripture, Ex. 20: 1-3. The people are at 
Mount Sinai, where God is to manifest Himself 
in His awful majesty and holiness. None are 
permitted even to touch the mount. He was 
about to give the law, His requirement from 
man, and the solemn fact is emphasized that man 
could not meet that requirement. In the first 
four commandments we have the claims of law in 
relation to God, and in the last six those claims in 
relation to man. This has been summarized, as 



16 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

our Lord quoted it: " Thou shalt love the Lord 
thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, 
and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; 
and thy neighbor as thyself" (Luke 10: 27). If 
such a demand as that is made upon fallen man, 
he can no more meet it than create a world. 

Thus, so far from giving life, the law can only 
give death. So far from drawing man into the 
presence of God, it can only place barriers around 
the inaccessible mount of His glory and holiness. 
" By the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justi- 
fied in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge 
of sin" (Rom. 3: 20). 

There are two exercises produced by the law, 
answering to the provision of grace made in the 
Passover and the Red Sea. First, as a ground of 
justification, it shows man his utter guilt and 
unfitness for God. You will search the Scriptures 
in vain for a single instance where the effect of 
the law of God upon man is anything else. 

But we are sometimes told that though we are 
not under law as a ground of justification, we are 
under it as a rule of life. It is indeed an expres- 
sion of God's perfect will for His people who are 
to walk according to these ten commandments; 
but the fact is man can no more keep the law as 
a rule of life than as a means of justification. 
The law only gives the knowledge of sin in 
us. Let us remember that remarkable passage, 
" The strength of sin is the law" (1 Cor. 15: 



With whom does God dwell? 17 

56) — it binds the guilt of sin upon the con- 
science. 

What is the secret of the struggle of the 7th 
of Romans ? It is a child of God seeking holi- 
ness by the law as a rule of life. But he finds 
that what was ordained to life only works death 
in him; that which was "holy, just and good" 
only produced condemnation in him, and the 
prohibition but stirred unconquerable desire to 
do the very thing forbidden. 

Whenever you see a man seeking to keep the 
law as God's demand upon him, you will find him 
guilty and wretched; or, what is worse, self-right- 
eous and self-deceived. If he is a child of God, 
he becomes perfectly miserable, crying out, 
" Oh wretched man that I am! " That being the 
case, wherefore serveth the law ? God's answer 
is that it shuts up man to the perfect redemption 
through Christ, both from the guilt and the power 
of sin. The law has done its holy work when it 
has taught the solemn heart-searching truth: 
"In me, that is, in my flesh, dwelleth no good 
thing" (Rom. 7: 18). When it has done this, it 
points the way to Christ. "The law of the 
Spirit, of life in Christ Jesus, hath made me free 
from the law of sin and death" (Rom. 8: 2). 

But these great facts being settled, we can see 
the law as suggesting another great truth. Peter, 
writing in his first epistle to a pilgrim people 
who would answer very much to Israel as they 



18 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

passed through the wilderness, addresses them 
as, " Elect according to the foreknowledge of 
God the Father, through sanctification of the 
Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the 
blood of Jesus Christ " (i Pet. 1:2). They were 
not only an elect and regenerate people, shel- 
tered by the sprinkled blood, but they were 
marked for practical obedience. We might say 
the precious blood has been sprinkled not only 
upon the door for shelter, but upon the path of 
God's redeemed people, to secure their walk for 
Him. 

How blessed is the thought that our whole 
pathway is a blood-sprinkled one — that is, a way 
of holiness; a redeemed way for a redeemed peo- 
ple (Isa. 35: 8-10). Just as really as we are re- 
deemed from the guilt of sin, so really are we 
marked for obedience to God. And this, we may 
gather, was typified by the law — an obedience 
which it could not produce, but which God de- 
sired for His people. This we have in the 8th of 
Romans: " For what the law could not do, in that 
it was weak through the flesh, God sending His 
own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for 
sin, condemned sin in the flesh, that the right- 
eousness of the law (the righteous requirements 
of the law) might be fulfilled in us who walk not 
after the flesh, but after the Spirit " (Rom. 8: 
3, 4). For those who have been redeemed from 
it, the law becomes the badge of the very obe- 



With whom does God dwell? 19 

dience which it failed to secure. Thus our fifth 
scripture reminds us that God dwells among an 
obedient people. 

6. Our sixth scripture, Ex. 33 : 12-14, need 
not detain us long, though its lesson is a precious 
one, based as it is upon the sad history that pre- 
ceded it. Moses was in the mount, enjoying 
communion with God about the Tabernacle, of 
which God was showing him the pattern, and 
giving directions about each detail — and the peo- 
ple who had but lately been promising absolute 
obedience, were singing and dancing about the 
golden calf! You say, What a wretched people to 
forget their oaths in so short a time! Ah, is the 
natural man anything better in us ? The flesh 
will turn from the glories of the person of Christ 
to its golden calves ! Let God leave us for 
a single hour, and we will dishonor Him, even 
as His beloved servants, Peter, David and Heze- 
kiah did — men of God as they were. No confi- 
dence in the flesh! May the Holy Spirit bring 
it home in the power of divine love and grace to 
our hearts. 

But, thank God, that is but the dark back- 
ground upon which the bright lustre of divine 
grace shines out all the more brightly. Moses 
returns to the mount to intercede for the people. 
"Perad venture," he says (for it was a legal, ex- 
ternal, conditional covenant), "I shall make an 
atonement for you." He now brings back tg 



20 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

them new tables of stone with the same com- 
mands upon them. They were, we might say, 
law tempered with mercy, for a people who were 
stiff necked and prone to evil. This glimpse of 
mercy, connected with an inflexible law, is not 
sufficient to give life, but it causes Moses' face to 
shine, so that he was obliged to put a veil upon 
his face, for the people could not look upon that 
which, as the apostle tells us, was a "ministra- 
tion of condemnation " (2 Cor. 3: 9). But, thanks 
be to God, the veil is now removed, in Christ, 
and we see, not a partial glory, but the full 
glory of the ministry of life and righteousness 
shining in the face of Jesus. This glory is sug- 
gested at least in the scripture we have been 
dwelling upon; and the lesson we would gather 
from it is that a people who have learned their 
own nothingness and have been restored on a 
basis of grace, are now in a position to enjoy 
what God reveals to them. 

7. This brings us to the seventh great truth, 
Ex. 35 : 1-3, which is the culmination of all the 
previous ones. It is the rest of God. All pro- 
visions for preparing the Tabernacle had been 
made, and they were now about to enter upon 
its actual construction. But notice, first, the 
repetition of the command to keep the Sabbath. 
It points on to the rest of God. He can never 
rest in the presence of sin. He would declare 
that His dwelling-place is to be on the basis of 



With whom does God dwell? 21 

an eternal Sabbath. We see this in the last part 
of Revelation, when the toiling is done the 
glorious end is reached. All of man's day is 
at last over, and we are brought into the cloud- 
less, eternal day of God. "The Tabernacle of 
God is with men, and He will dwell with them " 
(Rev. 21 : 3). The rest of God and the dwelling- 
place of God must be together, and that for 
eternity. But coming back to time, to the basis 
on which God dwells w T ith His people even now, 
how preciously it reminds us of Him who is the 
true basis of rest — not our work or worthiness. 
It is ceasing to struggle to improve the flesh, and 
in anticipation entering upon God's rest, even 
Christ Himself, whose glory God spreads as a 
covering over His redeemed (Isa. 4: 5, 6). 

Thus briefly we have looked at the character- 
istics of the people whom God leads into the 
truth of His dwelling-place. Let us repeat them. 
They are : 

A people sheltered by the blood of the Lamb. 

A people purchased by the same precious blood. 

A people delivered from the power of sin 
through the death and resurrection of Christ. 

A people nourished and sustained through all 
their wilderness journey. 

A people sanctified unto obedience through the 
blood of Christ. 

A people restored from the sin and folly of 
departure from God. 



22 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

A people who have entered into the thoughts 
of God's rest. 

If our souls have in some measure been laid 
hold of by these truths, we shall be in a moral 
condition to enjoy what God has revealed in con- 
nection with His dwelling-place among His peo- 
ple, and to be more fully established by it in His 
grace. 



LECTURE II 

GOD'S DWELLING-PLACE 

(Exodus 25: 1-9.) 

WE have here a list of the materials which 
were necessary for the construction of the 
Tabernacle, God's dwelling-place. It was a won- 
derful building, which represented, for the time 
in which it was erected, and indeed for all time, 
the extreme of cost and value. No expense was 
spared, no magnificence was wanting, to make 
the dwelling-place of God as glorious and won- 
derful an abode as the eye of man had ever seen, 
and yet a fitting accompaniment to the wilder- 
ness. 

Gold and silver and brass were the metals 
to be used. All the shittim wood in the Taber- 
nacle was covered with gold — boards, ark, altar 
of incense, table of shewbread; while the candle- 
stick and mercy-seat were made entirely of this 
precious metal. 

Silver formed the foundation of the building. 
Each board securely rested in two sockets of silver, 
having mortises into which the tenons of the 
boards entered. This gave solidity and firmness 
to the whole structure. 

Brass was used in the court, forming sockets 



24 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

for the pillars at the entering of the Tabernacle, 
as also for the pillars of the entire court. Of this 
strong, unyielding material were also made the 
laver and the covering for the altar of burnt 
offering as well as its various utensils. 

We have next the materials of which the cur- 
tains were formed — blue, purple, scarlet and fine 
linen. Then for the other coverings we have 
goats* hair, rams' skins dyed red, and badgers' 
skins, and shittim wood for the boards. Each of 
these materials will come before us in detail as 
we take up the various parts of this wondrous 
structure. 

Lastly we have mentioned the oil, spices and 
precious stones, each of which yields precious 
thoughts when we come to look into their spirit- 
ual meaning. Let us notice now three points in 
connection with the enumeration of these ar- 
ticles : 

First, we are told that God invites a free-will 
offering of His people : "Of every man that 
giveth it willingly with his heart, ye shall take 
My offering " (ver. 2). 

Second, we see that God would have a dwelling 
among His people : "And let them make Me a 
sanctuary, that I may dwell among them "(ver. 8). 

Third, everything was to be made according to 
the pattern shown to Moses: "According to all 
that I show thee, after the pattern of the Taber- 
nacle, and the pattern of all the instruments 



God's Dwelling-place 25 

thereof, even so shall ye make it " (ver. 9). This 
last point will occupy us in looking at the Taber- 
nacle in detail; we will now consider the first 
two: 

As to the first point: All the materials speak 
in some way of Christ, in His varied perfections 
and glories, and yet they were to be brought as 
a willing offering by the people. God has re- 
vealed Christ to us in all His fulness; but if He 
is to have a dwelling-place among us, if we are 
practically to enjoy His presence and have com- 
munion with Him, is it not to be somewhat on 
the basis of a free-will offering of our own ? It 
is no material offering now; we are not called 
upon, in that way, to bring our quota of gold, 
silver, or precious stones; but our hearts must 
be stirred up, be made willing to enter into 
what Christ our Lord is, and thus bring it, as it 
were, to God, who by His Spirit will reveal and 
cause us to enjoy the blessed Lord fully. 

We are thus thrown, we might say, upon our 
own responsibility. Everything is of perfect 
grace, but it flows through hearts made willing 
by that grace. Thus Christ must, in some meas- 
ure, be to our hearts what the gold, silver, etc., 
speak of. This is no mere intellectual apprehen- 
sion, but a laying hold of the very springs of our 
life, thus enabling us to lay them, as it were, before 
our gracious God for His use and acceptance. 
What a thought that is ! May the Holy Spirit 



26 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

produce its fruit in us. We are not merely to 
get, but to give. As we dwell on one feature 
after another of this wondrous building, may 
they so enter into our hearts as to flow forth in 
worship and a Christ-like life. This is what glori- 
fies God: His ear delights to hear of His blessed 
Son. He loves to have us tell Him of our need, 
but the one precious, sweetest name to Him is 
that of Jesus, in whom all the glory of the Only 
Begotten shines. 

So let us be a willing-hearted people, with 
hearts for Christ, who bring to God Christ our 
Lord and Saviour as the enjoyment of our heart. 

The next point to notice is the subject of God's 
dwelling-place with man: "Let them make Me 
a sanctuary that I may dwell* among them. " 

i. When God began His work of creation He 
had in His mind to be in the midst of His crea- 
tures. This is beautifully brought out in the 8th 
chapter of Proverbs. There, One speaks who is 
called Wisdom — who was before the creation, 
before the earth with its hills and fountains were 
formed. He was ever with God, a member of 
the divine family— One in whom God delighted. 
But He adds, "My delights were with the sons 
of men" (Prov. 8: 23-31). Notice thus that be- 
fore creation existed, divine love, in the Son, was 

*This word is the root of that translated " Tabernacle ' ' 
throughout the book. We will look at it and its companion 
"Tent" later. 



God's Dwelling-place 27 

set upon His creatures, and His desire was to 
dwell with them. 

The two thoughts of redemption and dwelling 
with man seem to be connected there. Just as 
surely as our blessed Lord was to be the Re- 
deemer — the Lamb "foreordained before the 
foundation of the world " (i Pet. i: 20), so surely 
did He long to dwell with His redeemed people. 

But let us look at this a little in detail, taking 
up a few scriptures which give us foreshadows of 
the dwelling of God with man. We look back 
first to Eden, man's paradise, when our first par- 
ents in innocence dwelt there. We have a sug- 
gestion that God was on terms of holy intimacy, 
if we may use that expression, with them. For 
after the fall He is said to have walked in the 
garden in the cool of the day, and we may gather 
from the expression that this was no unusual 
visit on the part of the blessed God. While 
Eden, as the abode of unfallen man, was not the 
place of eternal righteousness, yet sin had not 
entered there, and God could, in some measure, 
have intercourse with His creatures. What a 
beautiful picture it is — the garden planted by 
His hand for the enjoyment and employment of 
man, and the Creator coming down into this 
place to enjoy such fellowship with him as was 
possible. 

But, alas, sin soon marred all that. Satan, who 
himself could not endure the presence of a holy 



28 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

God, and could not endure the thought of crea- 
ture subjection to Him, had already fallen from 
the estate in which he had been created. He had 
exalted himself against God, and therefore was 
the fallen, relentless, hopeless foe of all the holi- 
ness, goodness and mercy of God. He brings in 
the subtle doubt of that goodness and beguiles 
the woman. The man, with full knowledge, 
follows her. Thus sin enters the world, and so, 
when God comes down to have (may we not say?) 
His accustomed intercourse with His creatures, 
they flee from Him and hide among the trees of 
the garden. 

Sin cannot endure the presence of God; from 
that day to this man has never been able to en- 
dure the thought of that holy Presence. What is 
the object of all the religions of heathenism? Not 
to give man the knowledge of God, but to enable 
him to get along without God. The grossest or 
the most refined rituals are alike in this, that in 
them man hides from God, self-deceived it may 
be, but quite willing to be so, and dreading 
nothing so much as the thought of a perfectly 
holy God. Conscience cries for something, and 
so man puts his religion between himself and 
God, but practically he is outside Eden. We 
know nothing of that original dwelling of God 
with His creatures, save as Scripture gives us 
the glimpse we have been speaking of. It is a 
thing of the past forever. 



God's Dwelling-place 29 

2. We pass next to another allusion in the book 
of Genesis to God's dwelling with, or rather vis- 
iting man. What more lovely picture have we 
in that book than the visit of the three strangers 
to Abraham (chap. 18: 1-8), as he sat at the door 
of his tent in the heat of the day ? The faithful 
patriarch sees these strangers draw near, and 
with alacrity offers them the hospitality of his 
home. One of these is the living God; the other 
two are His angels, whom He will shortly send 
on other service. The holy God accepts the hos- 
pitality offered, and becomes a guest in the tent 
of Abraham the pilgrim. 

Here, in this first book of Scripture, we have a 
picture of the character of God's intimacy with 
His people. In the unleavened cakes and the calf 
presented for food we have typified "the Bread 
of God " — the sinless person of Christ — and His 
sacrificial work. This is the only basis upon 
which a righteous and holy God could at all have 
communion with a fallen creature; faith ever 
recognizes this, from Abel onward. 

In solemn contrast, the two angels are sent on 
to Sodom where Lot has found his home. There 
is neither tent nor altar there. Lot has sacrificed 
both his pilgrim and priestly character for earthly 
gain, therefore God does not even personally 
draw near to him. His angels in mercy rescue 
him, but there is no intimacy. 

3. The next picture of God's dwelling with 



30 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

man is what is to occupy us in the following 
pages. It is not a transient visit to an individual, 
but an abiding with His people through the wil- 
derness and onward. 

4. When the Tabernacle was brought into the 
land, it was set up at Shiloh. After Israel's dis- 
astrous history, as seen in the book of Judges 
— one apostasy after another — the ark is taken 
captive by the Philistines, and though God de- 
livered it out of their hands, yet it was never 
restored to the Tabernacle at Shiloh (see Ps. 78: 
60-72). And this, among other things, shows us 
that the Tabernacle had but a typical value — as 
it spoke of Christ. 2 Chr. 1: 3, 13, shows us the 
Tabernacle at Gibeon, but not, so far as we are 
told, for stated worship. 

5. We pass next to that which is a type of 
God's permanent place of abode on earth — the 
temple. This, erected by Solomon, was the 
crowning splendor of his glorious reign. While 
the general plan of the Tabernacle is followed, 
all speaks of permanency: its stones speak of 
divine stability; its carvings and gold, of glory. 
But still it is only a figure. " Solomon built Him 
a house," declared Stephen, only to remind his 
hearers that "the Most High dwelleth not in 
temples made with hands" (Acts 7: 47-50). Sig- 
nificantly, Stephen closes his resume of Israel's 
history with the temple; it was the highest point 
of the nation's glory, and we have only to follow 



God's Dwelling-place 31 

on in Solomon's history to see that all was yet a 
shadow. The prayer of dedication, we may say, 
still echoed about the hills of Jerusalem wher 
Solomon fell into shameful sin and idolatry. 
Everything was but a type, and still waited till 
the full glory of God should be entrusted to One 
who perfectly, absolutely and permanently — in 
heart, life and nature — was the exhibition of 
God. 

6. Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the temple, 
burning it to the ground and carrying away its 
golden vessels to Babylon, with the people. In 
mercy, after seventy years of captivity, a rem- 
nant of the people is restored to Jerusalem, and 
the temple is rebuilt. To be sure, all was greatly 
reduced, and we do not read of the Shekinah- 
glory being seen. But there was the house of 
God, and the promise to the people that if they 
truly turned to God, He would make the glory 
of the latter house greater than that of the first 
(Hag. 2:9). 

7. There are a few centuries of silence between 
Malachi and Matthew, when, suddenly, we see 
the Glory returning to Immanuers land. God 
Himself is come! "The Lord whom ye seek 
shall suddenly come to His temple " (Mai. 3: 1). 
And how does He come ? We see heaven opened, 
and His attendants ministering with delight in 
connection with the advent of their Creator upon 
earth. But when we look to earth to see where 



32 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

this Glory was to find a home : we find it not in 
the temple, nor yet at Jerusalem. We go out to 
Bethlehem, and as we look with the wondering 
shepherds, in a manger, we see the Temple of 
God, the Shrine where His glory has found its 
home and abiding-place. "The Word was made 
flesh and tabernacled among us, and we beheld 
His glory, the glory as of the Only Begotten of 
the Father. " As we seethe Man Christ Jesus, 
we are beholding the true dwelling-place of God. 
He could speak of His body in that way: "De- 
stroy this Temple, and in three days I will raise 
it up." At last God had found a suited habita- 
tion with man. 

Here are two abodes, we might say: the one, 
the temple which had been without the Shekinah- 
glory, but connected with all the form and ritual 
in which the Jews boasted ; the other, in the 
Man Christ Jesus, the blessed Son of God, who 
was presenting Himself as the witness for God 
upon earth. These two abodes are in contrast to 
one another. One is a witness of Israel's past 
history of sin and the need of salvation; the 
other is the spotless, sinless, the holy One. 
Which will the leaders accept ? 

Our Lord comes to the temple and drives out 
of it the buyers and sellers, saying: " Make not 
My Father's house a house of merchandise " 
(Jno. 2 : 13-17). He calls it later "a den of 
thieves" (Matt. 21: 13) — that which should have 



God's Dwelling-place 33 

been a house of prayer. Which temple will they 
have — the mere house, " yoar house" (Matt. 23: 
38), as He calls it, or Him who would purge the 
house, and who was Himself the dwelling-place 
of God ? We know the awful answer. Pilate 
puts before them a murderer and Christ, and 
they cry (ah, our wicked hearts once said the 
same!) " Away with this man, and release unto 
us B ar abbas " (Luke 23: 18), 

So the temple was destroyed, as far as human 
hands could do it. The blessed incorruptible 
temple of His body is laid away in the grave, and 
His spirit returns to the Father. That is man's 
answer regarding God's dwelling-place here. 
They will not have it. It brings God too near — 
His holiness rebukes sin, and man would prefer 
even a murderer to the holy Christ of God. 

But God's purposes of grace are not to be 
thwarted by man's sin. This very crime, this 
enmity seen in the rejection and death of the 
Lord Jesus is the occasion for the fullest mani- 
festation of the love of God: 

"The very spear that pierced Thy side 
Drew forth the blood to save." 

His death provided the avenue for God's love 
to flow forth in abundant grace for the vilest and 
neediest of sinners. 

We now pass on a little. God had had this 
wondrous dwelling-place on earth in His own 



34 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

beloved Son. But man could not endure and 
would not have this nearness of God dwelling 
with him, and cast out Jesus — Immanuel — by 
way of the cross. But God raised Him from the 
dead, and He has ascended on high. The "Tem- 
ple " has gone within the veil, into the inner 
sanctuary. 

8. But see the wonder of God's grace. The 
Spirit of God has been sent forth, from a glorified 
Christ and the Father, and now we have a habi- 
tation of God, formed by the Spirit (Eph. 2: 22). 
Every believer in the Lord Jesus is a living stone 
in this spiritual house, which "groweth unto a 
holy temple in the Lord." How wondrous is the 
grace of God! In the very world where His 
Well-Beloved was crucified, where men cried 
out, "Away with Him," a habitation is being 
formed from such material as that! Men who 
recognize their lost condition and accept the in- 
finite grace and love of God, out of this quarry 
of nature are the great and costly stones dug for 
this temple of God. Thus, without great show, 
without the sound of a hammer (1 Kings 6: 7), 
this eternal habitation of God is growing, until 
" He shall bring forth the headstone thereof 
with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it" 
(Zech. 4: 7). 

But even now does God by His Spirit dwell in 
the Church, His abode ; and each believer is also 
individually a habitation of God. "Know ye 



God's Dwelling-place 35 

not that your body is the temple of the Holy 
Ghost ?" (i Cor. 6: 19). The moment one has re- 
ceived Christ, he is " sealed with the Holy Spirit 
of promise," and indwelt by Him who is "the 
earnest of our inheritance until the redemption 
of the purchased possession" (Eph. 1). What a 
holy thought that is — our bodies God's habita- 
tion by the Holy Spirit, who has taken up His 
abode there, on the ground of the finished re- 
demption of Christ's atoning death. 

9. We have been speaking of Israel having re- 
jected Christ, and of the glory having forsaken 
their temple, the Lord saying, " Behold, your 
house is left unto you desolate," not one stone to 
be left upon another; but in the book of Ezekiel 
we have a most beautiful picture connected with 
the destruction of the temple under Nebuchad- 
nezzar, and its restoration at the beginning of 
the millennium. 

The prophet sees the glory of God departing 
from between the cherubim and standing over 
the threshold of the temple door (chap. 10: 4). 
It shows how reluctantly the holy and gracious 
God was leaving the place of His abode. It is as 
though He were pleading with the people and 
asking if they would not yet give His holiness a 
place amongst them. Alas, there is no response ; 
and reluctantly He leaves the threshold and takes 
His place outside the temple (chap. 10: 18, 19). 
Still He lingers, and still there is no response, so 



36 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

that He leaves the temple hill and goes over to 
the Mount of Olives (chap, n: 22, 23). At last 
He departs, leaving them alone. His people 
then are carried into captivity, and the temple 
lies in ruins. 

But turn to the latter part of the prophecy, 
which shows the remnant of the people restored, 
in the prophet's vision, from their captivity (chap. 
43). This is due alone to the faithfulness of their 
gracious God, who works in them self-abhor- 
rence and true repentance. They are restored 
to their land, each tribe to its appointed inherit- 
ance, and again their centre is the temple of 
God, rebuilt in far greater glory than ever, and 
that glory which had departed from it is restored 
in much the same way as it had departed. God 
returns and takes up His abode in that future 
temple, and the glory shall be for a covering 
(Isa. 4:5). Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, 
God will shine, and the name of the city shall be 
called Jehovah Shammah, "Jehovah is there" 
(Ezek. 48 : 35). There we have God's earthly 
dwelling-place during the millennium. And the 
eye has but to be lifted up to see the glories of 
the heavenly city in whose light the nations of 
the earth will walk during that happy period, 
when the "King shall reign in righteousness'* 
(Isa. 32: 1), when our Lord Jesus shall be owned 
as the rightful Ruler over the very world where 
He was rejected and crucified. 



God's Dwelling-place 37 

10. Lastly, we have the final abode of God. 
Our blessed Lord promised His people: U I go 
to prepare a place for you. And if I go and pre- 
pare a place for you, I will come again, and re- 
ceive you unto Myself; that where I am, there 
ye may be also" (Jno. 14: 2, 3). We know the 
way by which He went to the Father. He might 
have ascended at any time during His peerless 
and holy life to His home in heaven, but it would 
have been alone. In the language of the Hebrew 
servant who refused to go out free, He said, "I 
love my wife, and my children, I will not go out 
free " (Ex. 21 : 5). So He was, as it were, pierced 
to the door-post, in the devotedness of His love. 
In other words, He ascended to the Father by 
way of Calvary; it was through death that He 
would go — crucified, and "raised up from the 
dead by the glory of the Father" (Rom. 6 : 4). 
Thus He laid the eternal and righteous founda- 
tion of that home where sin can never enter, and 
which judgment will never shake. 

He has entered into heaven itself, and has 
taken possession of it as the abode of His re- 
deemed people throughout eternity. In the close 
of the book of Revelation we see the heavenly 
city, "asa bride adorned for her husband," and 
we hear a voice saying, "Behold the tabernacle 
of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, 
and they shall be His people, and God Himself 
shall be with them, and be their God. And God 



38 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

shall wipe away all tears from their eyes " (Rev. 
ax: 3). 

God at last rests in His creation, dwelling in 
the midst of His people — a redeemed race; a 
people who no longer flee from His face as our 
guilty parents did in Eden. Nor is He, as we 
might say, paying them a visit as He did to 
Abraham, nor manifesting Himself dimly and 
conditionally as in the Tabernacle and the Tem- 
ple ; nor is He even manifesting Himself only in 
the spotless Son of His love in His humiliation 
as He walked this earth for a little season; it is 
not even the spiritual habitation by the Holy 
Spirit dwelling in the Church upon earth; but 
there is the full and eternal display of Himself in 
Christ, and through Him in the Church, in Israel, 
in the saved nations, and in the whole universe. 
When this is accomplished, God can say, "The 
tabernacle of God is with men, and He will 
dwell with them." 

As we dwell upon the Tabernacle, we are an- 
ticipating, if we grasp its spiritual truths, that 
which God desired from the beginning, and for 
which He has been laboring, and which His 
adorable Son, our Lord, has made possible 
through His atoning death. "He will rejoice 
over thee with joy; He will rest in His love, He 
will joy over thee with singing " (Zeph. 3: 17). 

The third point, that everything was to be 
made by Moses according to the pattern showed 



God's Dwelling-place 39 

him in the Mount, will in its details occupy us 
throughout these pages. It will suffice here to 
remember that this left nothing to the natural 
mind of Moses. Real or fancied resemblances 
between the Tabernacle and Egyptian temples 
have no place here. Just as the religion of Egypt 
was a satanic perversion of the truth of God as 
made known to man, so the temples in which that 
religion was housed were a perversion of the truth 
of God's abode. The very points of resemblance 
were but counterfeits, leading into the vilest 
blasphemies. Blessed be God, He has left no- 
thing to the mind of fallen man, but revealed all 
absolutely in His Word, no longer a " pattern," 
but Him who is His very image. The " pattern " 
will be full of Him in its minutest details. May 
it be our desire in all this pattern to behold 
the Lord; to say, " We would see Jesus." 



LECTURE III 

THE BUILDING OF THE TABERNACLE 
The Linen Curtains and Colors 

(Ex. 36: 8-13) 

WE come now to the actual construction of 
the Tabernacle — not only the divine in- 
structions given to Moses when God showed him 
the pattern in Mount Sinai. Between those two 
periods occurred Israel's apostasy. For scarce 
had the words of the commands and the people's 
solemn engagements to keep them been uttered, 
when they violated the first three by making the 
golden calf, and rejoiced in the work of their 
own hands. 

Coming down from the mountain and finding 
them dancing about this idolatrous image, Moses 
broke the tables of the law, in token that the cove- 
nant on the basis of law was at an end. God in mer- 
cy, in connection with the intercession of Moses, 
intervened and resumed His relationship with 
the people, no longer on the basis of pure law, 
but of mingled mercy and law, which, while it 
enabled Him to bear with them as a stiffnecked 
people, still kept them at a distance. The actual 



The linen curtains and colors 41 

building of the Tabernacle was in connection 
with this restored relation with the people (Ex. 

32: 33-35)- 

The difference in the order in which the var- 
ious parts are mentioned is in accordance with 
this relation. At the first, God began with the 
Holy of holies and the Ark of the Covenant, 
which was His throne, and from this point passed 
outward till the structure of the Tabernacle was 
reached. He was speaking from the point of 
view of the law, the righteous demands of His 
throne, which was fittingly the first thing de- 
scribed. But the people have sinned, have 
violated and dishonored that throne, and unless 
mercy had intervened, there would have been 
no possible way by which God could have gone 
on with them. Most fittingly, therefore, the 
narrative of the structure begins with the cur- 
tains which formed the Tabernacle proper; the 
fitness of this will appear when we see their sig- 
nificance. 

There are at least four ways in which we can 
look at the Tabernacle. First, it is a figure of 
God's great creation, the universe. In that case, 
the court would represent the earth, the Holy 
place would represent heaven, and the inner* 
most sanctuary the Heaven of heavens, the place 
of His throne. 

In close connection with this, we can look upon 
it as setting forth the means of approach to God. 



42 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

Here again the court would represent the earth, 
the abode of sinful man ; and the inner sanctuary, 
heaven, with the throne of God hidden from His 
guilty creatures. The way of approach is by 
means of the altar of burnt offering and the 
mercy-seat. 

The third view of the Tabernacle is of the 
structure as made of the gold-covered boards 
resting upon the silver sockets. These repre- 
sent Christ's people complete in Him and rest- 
ing upon His accomplished redemption, and 
thus " builded together for an habitation of God 
through the Spirit" (Eph. 2: 22). 

The fourth view is that which is now to occupy 
us, in which the curtains, which typify Christ, 
are the theme. They are not primarily typical 
of heaven, or the means of access to God, or of 
His people individually or collectively, but in 
them we have a blessed and precious type of 
" the Man Christ Jesus," who was God's dwelling- 
place while He was upon earth. 

The proof of this is found in the first scripture 
to be considered ; for our views of the teachings 
of the Tabernacle are not to be based upon 
fancy, but upon the simple and clear application 
of the perfect word of God. " The Word was 
made flesh and dwelt among us (and we beheld 
His glory, the glory as of the Only Begotten of 
the Father), full of grace and truth " (John 1 : 14). 
The word for "dwelt " is correctly given in the 



The linen curtains and colors 43 

margin of the Revised Version as " tabernacled" 
— dwelt in a tabernacle. The Eternal Word, the 
divine Son, by whom all things were made and are 
upheld, became flesh, and tabernacled here as a 
Man. He veiled His glory (though faith exult- 
antly cries out, " We beheld His glory ") and 
was " found in fashion as a man," taking the 
form of a servant (Phil. 2: 6-8). 

Let it be ever remembered that it was not God 
dwelling in a human body — which is one of the 
many heresies as to the person of our Lord. Nor 
is it even God dwelling in a perfect man — with 
body, soul and spirit — as though He could or 
would finally be separated from this manhood. 
But it is " the Word became flesh." He became 
identified with perfect humanity (may God give 
us to tread with bowed hearts and unshod feet in 
the presence of this holy truth), took up human- 
ity so absolutely that there was but one person, 
the blessed Son of God. All the perfection of 
His humanity was so absolutely associated with 
the dignity of His divine person, that while He 
ever remains a perfect Man, there is all the 
divine essence calling forth the worship that is 
His due as " God over all blessed forever " (Rom. 

9 :s). 

Thus we are guarded against two specific er- 
rors: One is to think of our blessed Lord as 
simply Deity inhabiting a man ; the other, is to 
think of His humanity in such a way as practi- 



44 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

cally to lose sight of His deity. It is a joy for 
faith, wherever we behold Christ, to worship 
Him, and to say with Thomas, " My Lord and 
my God. " Faith does not say, " We cannot wor- 
ship Him here, because He is Man; but there we 
can, because He is God." No; faith bursts 
through any such unholy and human restrictions, 
and prostrates itself before Him, whether we be- 
hold the marks of the human sufferings in His 
hands and side, or see Him "crowned with glory 
and honor" (Heb. 2: 9). 

We will now look at these coverings of the 
Tabernacle. There were four of them — the outer 
one was of badger or sealskin; next was that of 
the rams' skins dyed red; then there were the 
eleven curtains of goats' hair; and lastly, the 
inner one, the most composite and complete 
of all, which was of fine white linen, upon 
which (as seems to be suggested) were em- 
broidered cherubim in blue, purple and scarlet 
colors. 

The cherubim will come more specifically be- 
fore us when we examine the ark and mercy- 
seat. A few words will suffice as to them now. 
They were composite creatures with four faces — 
of a lion, of an ox, of a man, and of an eagle 
(Ezek. 1: 4-14; Rev. 4: 6, 7). They represented 
thus four classes of life: the majestic lion, type 
of kingly power; the patient ox, strong for 
labor and service; man with his sympathy and 



The linen curtains and colors 45 

intelligence; and the eagle soaring Heaven- 
ward. 

The four Gospels present our Lord Jesus in 
this fourfold way. In the Gospel of Matthew we 
see Him as "the Lion of the tribe of Judah," 
Israel's King. In Mark we see Him in service, 
bearing, as the patient ox does, His burden, the 
load of human need. In Luke we see the face of 
the Man throughout — human intelligence, sym- 
pathy, love and example. John shows us the 
eagle from heaven, soaring back there to the 
place where He was with the Father before the 
world was. 

These linen curtains were ten in number, each 
28 cubits long and four cubits wide, joined side 
by side together in two sets of five curtains each. 
These two parts were in turn joined to each 
other by fifty loops of blue, and hooked with 
golden hooks, which coupled all together, making 
one Tabernacle. Here then we have a fulness of 
form and material at which we must look care- 
fully. 

We will first gather the Scripture teaching as 
to the significance of the fine linen.* On the 
great day of atonement, the High Priest laid 
aside his ordinary garments of glory and beauty, 

*The word for fine linen is "shesh," derived from a root 
meaning to be white, or bright. It was the " Byssus" of 
Egypt, white, fine and costly, worn by men of rank (Gen. 41: 
42), and a staple nrticle of commerce. 



46 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

and wore only spotless white. He was going as 
the bearer of the blood of atonement into the 
presence of God, and the one thought to be 
emphasized in the minds of the people was the 
absolute need of spotless purity in that holy Pres- 
ence (Lev. 16: 4). 

When God was about to judge His apostate 
people, in the day of Ezekiel, when He could no 
longer go on with their evil, He sent, as the 
prophet saw in his vision, a man clothed in white 
linen, with the inkhorn, throughout Jerusalem, 
to mark everyone who was sighing and crying 
for the abominations that were done (Ezek. 
9: 3, 4). The significance of the linen in 
such surroundings was evident. We shall find 
this to be the case throughout the Old Testa- 
ment. 

In the New Testament we have in the trans- 
figuration a very striking illustration of the mean- 
ing of these white garments. Our blessed Lord's 
glory, His intrinsic character, was to shine forth 
on that holy mount — not as He went through the 
land in the lowly garb of badger skins, in which 
there was no form or comeliness to the eye of un- 
belief — but the outer coverings of God's Dwell- 
ing-place were removed, as it were, and the 
personal, moral glory of that Holy One shone 
out. " His face did shine as the sun"; "His 
raiment became .shining, exceeding white as 
snow, so as no fuller on earth can white them" 



The linen curtains and colors 47 

(Mark 9:3), showing forth the essential and per- 
fect purity of His nature. 

The meaning of the linen is perhaps most defi- 
nitely given in the 19th chapter of Revelation. 
Of the Bride, the Lamb's wife, it is said, "To 
her was granted that she should be arrayed in 
fine linen, clean and white : for the fine linen is 
the righteousnesses of saints" (Rev. 19: 8, R.V.). 
This fine linen must not be confounded with the 
"best robe," which is Christ our righteousness 
(Luke 15: 22). This is put upon the sinner the 
moment he turns to God in true repentance and 
faith. But the "fine linen " is the personal holi- 
ness, in actual life, produced by the power of the 
Holy Spirit in the lives of God's saints. 

Thus there can be no question of the signifi- 
cance of this fine linen in the curtains. It tells 
us of the spotless holiness, purity, righteousness 
of the Lord Jesus, manifested in every act, word 
and thought of His daily life. 

We have already noticed a correspondence be- 
tween the four races of the cherubim and the 
four Gospels severally, and would now trace in 
each Gospel the resemblance to one of the four 
colors in the curtains. Of course there are char- 
acteristics of all these colors in each Gospel, but 
may we not find a predominant characteristic in 
each ? Where, for instance, should we find em- 
phasized and brought out in a distinctive way the 
humanity of our Lord, its spotless purity, apart 



48 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

from the thought of official position ? Let us look 
at the Gospel of Luke. 

In the first chapter, the birth of our Lord is 
foretold. It is not that of an ordinary person, 
but of the Word made flesh. " Therefore that 
Holy Thing which shall be born of thee shall be 
called the Son of God" (Luke i: 35). His hu- 
manity was intrinsically holy, without the least 
taint of sin. David had to confess, "Behold I 
was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother 
conceive me " (Ps. 51 : 5). David's Lord was 
"that Holy Thing!" 

In the second chapter, the child Jesus has 
reached the age of twelve — a period of life caus- 
ing especial anxiety to thoughtful parents, when 
the will of the boy begins to assert itself in a 
more definite way; restraint of parental author- 
ity is irksome, and companionship outside his 
home is sought after. It is the age of special 
temptations and dangers, needing the sovereign 
grace of God to uphold "in the slippery paths 
of youth." Look at the child Jesus at this age. 
He has been taken to Jerusalem, and as Joseph 
and Mary return to Nazareth they lose sight of 
Him for three days. In what company has He 
been ? They find Him in the temple in the midst 
of the doctors, and in answer to His mother's 
anxious question, He replies, "Wist ye not that 
I must be about My Father's business ? " (Luke 
2: 49). His one concern was to be engaged in 



The linen curtains and colors 49 

the things of His Father. Was there ever a 
child like that, to whom God was Father in such 
a way that He absorbed His soul ? 

Trace Him a little further, and we see more of 
the fine linen. He goes back to Nazareth and is 
subject to His parents — for so the Scripture des- 
ignates Joseph as well as Mary, recognizing the 
place of responsibility he occupied. There was 
absorption in His Father's business and subjec- 
tion to those in the place of earthly responsibil- 
ity. There was nothing abnormally precocious 
— like the silly stories of the apocryphal Gos- 
pels—only absolute purity in every relationship. 
" Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in 
favor with God and man" (Luke 2: 52). There 
is the fabric of spotless linen being woven before 
the eye of God. 

Follow Him throughout the Gospel and you 
see everywhere the perfect Man. At Nazareth, 
in the synagogue, they may stumble at His lowly 
connections, but are constrained to admit the 
gracious words of love and truth which fall from 
His lips (Luke 4: 16, etc.). 

Look a little further and see Him in the Phari- 
see's house, where anything but fine linen sur- 
rounds Him. There is the Pharisee, puffed up 
with pride and self-righteousness; and prostrate 
at the feet of our Lord is a poor child of shame with 
soiled garments. But f the pride of the Phari- 
see and the "woman that was a sinner M illus- 



50 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

trate the condition of humanity in its opposite ex- 
tremes, of self-righteousness and misery, what 
shall we say of the perfect One at the table, 
ministering peace and pardon to the child of 
shame, and lowly reproof to the Pharisee ? How 
the spotless purity shines out! The reproaches 
of His enemies only emphasized this. "This 
Man receiveth sinners and eateth with them " 
(Luke 15: 2). They will class Him with them, 
and besmirch His white robes if possible. Oh, 
bring Him into closest contact with the evil; let 
Him sit down by the side of the poor sinner and 
what does it do ? Does it leave a stain upon 
Him — anything that God cannot look upon with 
delight ? Ah, no; it only brings out by contrast 
His spotlessness. Here is a Man in whom is a 
purity so absolute that its lustre is only brought 
out into relief by the blackness of self-righteous- 
ness in the Pharisee, or the filthy garments of sin. 
How it must have rested the heart of God to 
gaze upon that spotless whiteness! He had been 
looking down on this sin-cursed earth all these 
centuries for something His eye could rest upon, 
something of obedience and devotedness. Alas, 
even in the most faithful, an Abraham or a David, 
there was the garment in some measure "spot 
ted by the flesh" (Jude 23). But here was One 
whose garments gathered no defilement as He 
passed through this world of sin. 

See Him at prayer, again and again through- 



The linen curtains and colors 51 

out this Gospel — turning away from the plaudits 
of those who admired His miracles and profited 
by them, to go off and be alone with God, and 
pour out His soul to Him ; His blameless life em- 
phasized by this constant dependence and obe- 
dience. 

Coming to His death, we see the spotless white 
shining in all its purity. The world puts Him 
between two thieves. Ah, says Satan, I will at 
last besmirch His whiteness; I will associate 
Him w r ith malefactors and turn loose the rabble 
against Him, railing and casting dust into the 
air. I will see what will become of His spotless- 
ness. Yes, let us see what will become of His 
spotlessness! God only brings it out into clearer 
relief amidst the blackness of human and Sa- 
tanic wickedness. Pilate declares he finds no 
fault in Him. The very thief at His side is con- 
strained to own His sinlessness: " Dost not thou 
fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemna- 
tion ? And we indeed justly; for we receive the 
due reward of our deeds M — our garments are all 
defiled — " but this Man hath done nothing amiss " 
(Luke 23: 40, 41). The centurion, too, who pre- 
sided at the crucifixion, declared Him a righteous 
Man. 

This and much more we gather from the Gos- 
pel of Luke. The Gospel — might we not call it ? 
— of the fine white linen. 



52 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

We come now to the colors embroidered upon 
the white, as seems to be the thought. First we 
have blue* We will turn to our Bibles for the 
significance of this color. In Exodus 24 : 9, 10 
we get the thought of blue. God had been re- 
vealing Himself at Sinai, so far as He could do 
so, for " No man hath seen God at any time" 
(Jno. 1 : 18). But He manifests something of 
His character, and does so in the symbolic way 
appropriate to the time of types and shadows. 
The elders of Israel ascend the mount and see 
beneath the feet of the God of Israel the " paved 
work of a sapphire stone, as it were the body of 
heaven in its clearness." The intense blue of the 
sapphire thus speaks of heaven. 

This word "sapphire" is from the same root 
which means " to speak " or " declare, "and also a 
" book." Thus in the 19th psalm, '* The heavens 
declare the glory of God" is in Hebrew, " sap- 
phire the glory of God." Blue is the color of 
truth, and in God alone is truth; "God is light, 
and in Him is no darkness at all" (1 Jno. 1: 5). 
But the latter part of the same psalm speaks of 
that "law of the Lord," which is perfect. Here 
too is the sapphire in the Book — the Word which 

*The Hebrew word for blue is " Tekeleth^ 1 literally a shell- 
fish, yielding a dye of deep, purplish blue. There was an 
element thus of red in it, while the bine predominated. It is 
also noteworthy that it was obtained from animal life. It was 
used for gorgeous apparel for persons of rank (Ezek. 23 : 6 ; 
27:7, 24,. 



The linen curtains and colors 53 

reflects the character of the God of heaven 
throughout. 

Coming to instances or illustrations of the sig- 
nificance of blue, we are reminded of the fringe 
of blue, and the ribbon of blue, which God di- 
rected should be upon the border of the garments 
of His people (Num. 15: 38-40). They were to 
wear upon that part of the garment which trailed 
nearest to earth the color of heaven, to remind 
them of the perfections of the law — which, as we 
have just seen, was the expression of the truth 
of God — that they might do His will. They would 
remember that they were the people of God. 

Applying this to ourselves, how beautifully 
appropriate it is that we should be reminded that 
we are a heavenly people, united by the Holy 
Spirit to our Lord in heaven, and that our gar- 
ments — the " habits" of the life, as the word 
means — should speak of heaven, even in the low- 
liest part, which comes in closest contact with 
the earth. But who has ever exhibited this char- 
acter, save One ? It is only as His image is pro- 
duced in us by the Holy Spirit through faith 
that we in any measure can answer to His 
thoughts of us. 

Heaven's color was upon our Lord from the be- 
ginning. How gladly would the angels who her- 
alded His birth have accompanied Him through 
His whole course, ministering to Him in willing 
service as their Lord. He was from heaven, and 



54 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

all the host of heaven delighted to do Him honor. 
In Gethsemane, the hour of His deepest humili- 
ation, save on Calvary, all heaven was at His 
disposal, as He said: " Thinkest thou that I can- 
not now pray to My Father, and He shall pres- 
ently give Me more than twelve legions of 
angels?" (Matt. 26: 53). 

Now, is there one of the Gospels which spe- 
cifically presents our Lord in this way ? Many 
can at once reply: The Gospel of John is char- 
acteristically this. From the very first verse of 
that Gospel to its close we have Him before us 
as the heavenly One: "The Word was with 
God"— "The Word was made flesh" (Jno. 1: 
1, 14). In the third chapter He says to Nicode- 
mus, "If I have told you earthly things and ye 
believe not " — the necessity for new birth in or- 
der to enter the kingdom — " how shall ye believe 
if I tell you of heavenly things ? And no man 
hath ascended up to heaven, but He that came 
down from heaven, even the Son of Man which 
is in heaven" (Jno. 3: 13). Not the Son of Man 
who was in heaven before His incarnation merely ; 
nor the Son of Man who will be in heaven 
when He returns to the Father; but the One 
whose whole life here breathes the air of heaven. 
We call it sometimes the Gospel of the Deity, but 
is it not also characteristically the Gospel of the 
heavenly One ? Trace Him through that won- 
drous Gospel and you find the blue everywhere 



The linen curtains and colors 55 

apparent. He longs — may we not reverently say? 
— for His Father, though here always and only 
seeking His will even to laying down His life. 
But the One who sent Him is ever before His 
heart and on His lips. "As the living Father 
hath sent Me, and I live by (or, because of) the 
Father" (Jno. 6: 57). What perfect dependence 
and subjection! The only reason for His life here 
was His Father, in whom as perfect Man He 
abode. 

"This is that Bread which came down from 
heaven" (Jno. 6: 58). Notice that the Bread is 
the Son of Man who gave His flesh and blood; 
yet He speaks of it as the Bread which came down 
from heaven. Theology here may say we are 
not to confound the two natures, the divine Son 
and the Son of Man. The " Bread " is the latter. 
Thus we have been falsely accused of teaching 
that our Lord's humanity was a heavenly thing 
in the sense that it came down from heaven. It 
is right to be jealously on our guard against false 
doctrine, especially as to the person of our most 
holy Lord; but we are here in the presence of a 
most precious truth. Did our Lord mean to say 
that His flesh was not born upon earth ? Surely 
not; but that He was identified with His human- 
ity, so that all spoke of the heavenly character of 
His whole person. Everything was heavenly, 
because He had come down from heaven: the 
Bread is Himself, our spiritual food, and His 



56 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

blood the life — eternal life. He is the heavenly- 
food: u He that eateth of this Bread shall live 
forever " (Jno. 6 : 58). Throughout eternity we 
shall feed upon this " Bread that came down 
from heaven." 

Thus we see the blue woven in "with cun- 
ning workmanship," in divine skill and wisdom, 
where faith can see the beauty and adore, while 
it does not intrude into the "higher mysteries " 
which none but the blessed God can know. 

We find the blue strikingly brought out in 
connection with the linen in the thirteenth 
chapter. There we read that our Lord girded 
Himself with a towel (or, as in the Version of 
J. N. D., a linen towel), and washed the disciples' 
feet and wiped them with the linen towel where- 
with He was girded. He applied to them the 
spotless purity of His own life, to make their 
ways practically clean — using both the Word and 
His own service to fit them for communion with 
Himself. In the third verse we see the blue: 
"Jesus knowing that the Father had given all 
things into His hands, and that He was come 
from God, and went to God, He riseth," etc. 
The One who girded Himself with the linen 
towel is the One who came from God and was 
returning to Him — the heavenly One. 

Again, "I came forth from the Father, and 
am come into the world: again I leave the world, 
and go to the Father" (Jno. 16: 28). We may 



The linen curtains and colors 57 

say it is the Man who is speaking — "this same 
Jesus " — but He does not separate between His 
deity and humanity. He does not say, "My 
deity came forth from the Father, and My hu- 
manity and deity will go back to the Father. " 
No, it is the person, the whole Christ. He came 
forth from God, and throughout His entire life 
this heavenly character marked Him. At His 
death He delivered up His spirit to the Father. 
Thus He goes back where His heart always was, 
to His Father in heaven. He said to His dis- 
ciples, "If ye loved Me, ye would rejoice be- 
cause I said I go unto the Father " (Jno. 14: 28). 
He was going where He wanted to be; His life 
here was a period of exile to Him. He ever 
spoke of His Father, longed to be with Him — 
His whole life was full of this: we see the blue 
woven upon the white throughout. 

Remembering what we gathered from the 
word sapphire and its connection with the Book, 
how perfectly did our Lord show that His heav- 
enly character was in absolute accord with the 
written Word. Though from and of heaven, He 
found not a thing in Scripture which did not mani- 
fest God. For Him, all Scripture was given by 
inspiration of God; its source was heavenly, not 
earthly. Therefore its Author was God and not 
man. It was this absolute subjection to and 
identification with the written Word which 
marked Him as heavenly. He lived by the 



58 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

heavenly Book. For Him it was, " Forever, O 
Lord, Thy word is settled in heaven" (Ps. 119: 
89). He, the living- Word, lived as Man by the 
written Word. What a sufficient answer to un- 
belief which, by ascribing to the Scriptures a 
human origin in contents or structure, would 
degrade them from heaven to fallible and fallen 
earth. 

The next two colors, purple and scarlet, re- 
semble each other, and during our Lord's last 
hours robes of these two colors were put upon 
Him in mockery. In Matthew it was scarlet 
(chap. 27: 28), and in John purple (chap. 19: 2). 
We need hardly say there is no contradiction in 
this, but a divine reason. It is not at all unlikely 
that the wretched soldiers should put different 
robes upon Him, to pour out all their scorn, just 
as Herod also arrayed Him in "a gorgeous robe" 
(Luke 23: 11). This may indeed have been the 
purple or the scarlet robe, in which He was 
afterwards arrayed, while the governor's soldiers 
may have put another upon Him. We may ex- 
pect then to find the significance of purple and 
scarlet quite similar, though distinct. 

Purple, "Argatnan" is, like the word for blue, 
the name of a dye obtained from a shell-fish. As 
we shall see, the scarlet was similarly obtained 
from a worm. Lydia (Acts 16: 14) was a seller of 
purple. It was a gorgeous color, badge of roy- 
alty and luxury. How significant it is that all 



The linen curtains and colors 59 

three of these brilliant colors were obtained by 
the sacrifice of animal life. In Judges 8: 26 we 
are told that the kings of Midian wore purple 
robes. This gives the thought, familiar to all, 
that purple is the royal color, and speaks of 
kingly dignity. So when our Lord was hailed, 
though in mockery, as " King of the Jews," the 
robe corresponded. The rich man in Luke 16 
wore purple and fine linen, clothing befitting 
kings. 

We need scarcely say that our blessed Lord 
was indeed a King, and the Gospel which dis- 
tinctively sets Him forth in that character is 
Matthew. We will look at a few characteristic 
passages. When the wise men came from the 
East, led by the star, they asked at Jerusalem, 
44 Where is He that is born King of the Jews ? for 
we have seen His star in the East and are come 
to worship Him" (chap. 2: 2). They found Him 
in the royal city of David, Bethlehem, and pre- 
sented Him with royal offerings, and worshiped 
Him as even more than King. 

In the Sermon on the Mount (chaps. 5-7) we 
have the constitution of the kingdom, its organic 
law, and that which was to characterize its mem- 
bers. We see that while set up on earth, it was 
a spiritual kingdom; in fact it is called "the 
kingdom of heaven." In the following chapters 
we have the works of the King — and what mon- 
arch ever gave such royal gifts as this King who 



60 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

blessed wherever He went — healing, cleansing, 
forgiving ? There has been a superstition that 
the touch of a king would cure a certain kind of 
disease. But here we see the reality. 

But as we pass on we find this gentle, holy, 
almighty King is rejected by His subjects. " He 
came unto His own, and His own received Him 
not" (J no. i : n). In the twelfth chapter they 
have practically decided upon His rejection. 
Therefore in the thirteenth chapter, though we 
find Him still contemplating His kingdom, He is 
about to be absent from it. During that time 
the responsibilities of the kingdom are entrusted 
to His people. Later on, when Peter confesses 
Him as the Christ, the Son of the living God 
(Matt. 16: 16), our Lord entrusts to him the keys 
of the kingdom of heaven. In the same connec- 
tion He also speaks of that which is quite dis- 
tinct — His Church: this He builds, and it is 
therefore perfect; but whenever we have things 
in man's hands, weakness and corruption mani- 
fest themselves, until our Lord comes and sets 
up His kingdom in power and glory, and reigns 
over it. 

Before His crucifixion, well knowing all that 
awaited Him, He presents Himself once more to 
His beloved earthly people. He makes a trium- 
phal entry into Jerusalem in fulfilment of the 
prophecy, " Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Be- 
hold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sit- 



The linen curtains and colors 61 

ting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass " 
(Matt. 21 : i-ii). 

The King comes thus into "the city of the 
Great King" (Matt. 5: 35), not in splendor and 
grandeur, but in the lowly guise which so per- 
fectly became Him who had humbled Himself to 
be the Servant for the needs of man. 

The people seem to recognize Him and to be 
ready to receive their King, crying, " Hosanna 
to the Son of David," while His disciples take 
off their garments and lay them in the way with 
palm branches before Him. Even the children 
are crying aloud in the streets. Is He indeed to 
be recognized and accepted as King ? Are they 
ready to adorn Him with the purple garment ? 
Alas for man, for Jerusalem and for Israel! They 
knew not the time of their visitation, and soon in 
place of these shouts are heard the angry cries, 
' 1 Away with this Man! " " Crucify Him! " (Luke 
23: 18, 21). Our blessed Lord well knew that it 
would be thus, and gives them the parables of 
the rejected King: " This is the heir; come, let 
us kill Him," and of the rejected people, the man 
without the wedding garment, who intrudes into 
the marriage of the King's Son while rejecting 
Him — Christ, the best robe — who alone could 
give them fitness for the presence of God (Matt. 
22: 1-14). 

So we find throughout the Gospel the purple 
embroidery of His kingly character. The last 



62 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

prophetic discourse is in accord with this (chaps. 
24, 25J: "When the Son of Man shall come in 
His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, 
then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory : 
and before Him shall be gathered all nations." 
We see the glory of the King upon the throne 
w r ho "scattereth away all evil with His eyes" 
(Prov. 20: 8). 

In the closing scenes — His arrest, trial and 
crucifixion — we still find the royal purple shining 
forth. In the Garden of Gethsemane,when Peter 
drew his sword in puny defense of the Lord, the 
King reminds him of the army, the heavenly hosts, 
at His disposal: "Thinkest thou that I cannot now 
pray to My Father, and He shall presently give 
Me more than twelve legions of angels?" (Matt. 
26: 53). But He had not come to fight a battle 
against man, even His enemies, but against sin, 
and in that conflict He must be alone. More 
wonderful than ever will be the royal display 
after that glorious victory. 

He is challenged by Pilate, "Art Thou the 
King of the Jews?" and He answers, "Thou 
sayest." The soldiers in mockery put on Him the 
scarlet robe, "and when they had platted a 
crown of thorns, they put it upon His head, and 
a reed in His right hand: and they bowed the 
knee before Him, and mocked Him, saying, 
Hail, King of the Jews! " We take up those very 
words which they uttered in blasphemy, and 



The linen curtains and colors 63 

make them the expression of that which is 
divinely true. He is a crowned King; the crown 
of thorns is the crown of glory now. They write 
over the cross His accusation— it was the truth as 
to what He was, "The King of the Jews," for 
what charge could there be against the all-perfect 
One ? They put Him between two thieves, in the 
place of Barabbas, who was a murderer — a Sub- 
stitute for him — but * * this Man hath done noth- 
ing amiss " (Luke 23: 41). Yes, this is " Jesus, 
the King of the Jews." 

Everything hinges upon that, in Matthew. The 
people's thought of a king was one who would 
enable them to throw off the Roman yoke and 
establish them in power. Such a kingdom Bar- 
abbas would have given them, if he could. But a 
kingdom based upon justice and judgment, of 
whose King it could be said, " Thou lovest right- 
eousness, and hatest wickedness" (Ps. 45: 7), 
was not the man after their heart. The Man who 
was here as a witness for God, who testified to 
the whole truth — shameful and humbling as it 
was — who rebuked sin in high places, they could 
not endure; rather a murderer than "this Man." 
Blessed be God, He is also the King of grace — 
and the lowly, poor and helpless sinners who 
want Him, find His truth and righteousness for 
them. 

We see Him as King to the very last. In the 
moment of death, we read, "He dismissed His 



64 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

spirit" (Matt. 27: 50, ///.), such a word as was 
fitting to a King. Thus we see the purple 
throughout the Gospel. In resurrection He is 
still the King, with the mighty angel announcing 
in majesty His victory over death. Gathering 
His little company together He declares, "All 
power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth/' 
and sends them forth to spread His kingdom to 
earth's remotest bounds, for He the King will be 
with them till the age of patient grace close, and 
the age of His kingdom and power come in 
(Matt. 28: 18-20). 

This brings us to the last color, scarlet. As has 
already been said, there is much that corres- 
ponds to the purple, but we will see if there are 
any distinctive characteristics to be gathered 
from Scripture. 

In his lament over Saul, David calls on the 
daughters of Israel to weep for one who clothed 
them with scarlet (2 Sam. 1: 24); and the "virtu- 
ous woman," in Prov. 31: 21, clothes her house- 
hold similarly. In the 19th chapter of Numbers, 
in the familiar type of the red heifer, we have a 
similar use of the word scarlet. After the heifer 
was slain and its blood shed, it was burned with- 
out the camp, and as it was burning," cedar wood 
and hyssop and scarlet " were cast into the fire 
(Num. 19: 6). The cedar and hyssop are oppo- 
site extremes in the vegetable world: Solomon 
"spake of trees, from the cedar tree that is in 



The linen curtains and colors 65 

Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth 
out of the wall " (i Kings 4: 33). They thus stand 
for all that is highest and lowest in the world, 
while the scarlet would stand for the splendor of 
the world, its glory. 

We have a characteristic use of the color in 
the book of Revelation, where the woman sits 
upon the scarlet-colored beast. She also is ar- 
rayed ia purple and scarlet (Rev. 17 : 3, 4). She 
represents the false Church, not the " chaste 
virgin," the heavenly bride, espoused to Christ; 
she usurps her name, but is really of the earth, 
and full of all abominations. She is arrayed in 
the gorgeous hues of earthly splendor, while 
the true Church is walking in humble garb, often 
in sackcloth, waiting for her splendid array when 
the Bridegroom shall come. 

These scriptures give us one use of the color 
— the pomp and splendor of earth. But there is 
another and quite opposite use of the word, 
though related to this: " Though your sins be as 
scarlet, they shall be as white as snow " (Isa. 1 : 
18). The full word for scarlet is Tolaath skani, 
" scarlet worm." It is possible that shani, scar- 
let, means l< double," referring to the double dye 
which makes the scarlet. It is very suggestive 
that the pride and glory of man are closely con- 
nected with the double dye of sin. 

But there are other thoughts connected with 
the word " worm." It is the coccus cacti, the 



66 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

cochineal, from which the scarlet dye is obtained. 
In the 22nd psalm our holy Lord, in the midst of 
His anguish as a sin-offering on the cross, says, " I 
am a worm and no man" (ver. 6). This is the 
word which is used in connection with the scar- 
let, as we have seen. Thus our Lord, " who knew 
no sin," was * made sin " (or sin-offering, 2 Cor. 
5 : 21) for us, taking the place which we de- 
served. He took the place of being a worm, 
went down into death, crushed under the wrath 
and judgment of God, His precious blood shed 
to put away our scarlet sins. 

But by this very suffering unto death He has 
won a place of highest glory, and to Him belong' 
the kingdoms and glory of the world. Where sin 
and self had sway, He has acquired the right and 
power to rule. Where He is owned in faith, He 
takes His abode in the individual believer and 
reigns — subdues, governs, directs. Faith now 
sees Him "crowned with glory and honor" (Heb. 
2: 9). One day this world will be the scene of 
His splendor. The scarlet mantle will be upon 
Him whose right it is, not upon an apostate 
Church nor a godless world-power, but given by 
the Father into His hands who has purchased it. 

As in the first part of the 2 2d psalm we have 
His sufferings unto death for sin — the scarlet 
dye — so in the closing part we have the scarlet 
upon Him — royal authority and splendor. "All 
the ends of the world" — not only Israel — " shall 



The linen curtains and colors 67 

remember and turn unto the Lord: and all the 
kindreds of the nations shall worship before 
Thee" (ver. 27). This, we believe, gives us the 
scriptural thought of scarlet. 

There is another and solemn significance of 
this splendor of scarlet. When the Son of Man 
appears with the armies of heaven, He will be 
" clothed with a vesture dipped in blood " (Rev. 
19: 13). The scarlet is the solemn pledge that 
He must and will judge His enemies. " Those 
Mine enemies which would not that I should 
reign over them, bring hither and slay them be- 
fore Me " (Luke 19: 27). So also in Isaiah 63: 1 
the Victor is seen returning in triumph from the 
judgment of His enemies — "glorious in His ap- 
parel, traveling in the greatness of His strength." 
But, even there, judgment is seen to be His 
11 strange work," and He speaks of Himself as 
" mighty to save." 

Our next question is: Is there one of the Gos- 
pels which presents our Lord according to the 
thoughts we have connected with the scarlet ? 
Mark is the only remaining Gospel, but does it 
answer to this color ? It is known as the Gospel 
of the perfect Servant, as Matthew is of the 
King. We see Him there taking the servant's 
place, ministering to the need which everywhere 
appealed to His pity and love. He comes down 
into the lowliest place and then is raised to the 
highest. At the close of the 8th chapter and the 



68 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

beginning of the 9th we have the two thoughts 
of His sufferings and His glory blended together. 
"The Son of Man must suffer many things, and 
be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests 
and scribes, and be killed" (chap. 8: 31). He is 
rejected, despised, downtrodden — " I am a worm 
and no man." Look now at verse 38, "Whoso- 
ever, therefore, shall be ashamed of Me and of 
My words in this adulterous and sinful genera- 
tion " (the proud religious world clothing itself 
with scarlet) " of him also shall the Son of Man 
be ashamed when He cometh in the glory of His 
Father with the holy angels " — here is the scar- 
let worn by Him whose right it is. 

We find an illustration of His glory in the next 
chapter: " Verily I say unto you, That there be 
some of them that stand here, which shall not 
taste of death till they have seen the kingdom of 
God come with power" (chap. 9: 1). Then comes 
the Transfiguration, His coming glory displayed, 
as a pledge to His disciples that all these things 
shall be fulfilled. 

Again in the 10th chapter w r e have the predic- 
tion of His rejection and death. In immediate 
connection we have the request of the sons of 
Zebedee that they should have places of honor 
in His kingdom. It is, alas, significant that when 
He spoke of His sufferings they were occupied 
with their own dignities in connection with His 
glories. They never seemed to realize the neces- 



The linen curtains and colors 69 

sity of the cross before the glory till after the 
resurrection. It came upon them as a fearful 
shock at last. Even under the shadow of the 
cross, at the last supper, there was a dispute 
among them which of them should be the great- 
est. Let us remember that this is only natural 
to us unless faith is bright. 

The sons of Zebedee desire the scarlet, to be 
arrayed in the pomp and dignity of power — but 
our Lord was going to give them scarlet in a way 
that will not foster their pride. They would 
drink of His cup and be baptized with His bap- 
tism; they would partake of His sufferings and 
rejection — of course not of the atoning sufferings. 
This was all He could promise them here, and it 
would be their honor and glory (as also they 
esteemed it afterward) to suffer for His sake. 
When the other disciples begin to murmur at 
these two, jealous of what they conceived to be 
some special honor to be conferred upon them, our 
Lord says to them (ver. 45), "Even the Son of 
Man came not to be ministered unto, but to min- 
ister, and to give His life a ransom for many." 

So we find that the Lord's path, and that of His 
servants is suffering and rejection first, and the 
glory afterwards. The world's thought of scarlet 
is glory without suffering, just the reverse of our 
Lord's. His prophetic discourse brings out the 
same truth. 

When we come to His death, the distinguish- 



70 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

ing feature of His suffering is that He is for- 
saken of God. We see the holy One made sin — 
" a worm and no man," in order that those who 
were worse than worms might be clothed in the 
beauty of the Lord. 

His resurrection is the divine answer to His 
having been forsaken. u He was received up 
into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God " 
(Mark 16 : 19). Thus He has entered into His 
glory, and the lowly Servant and Sinbearer is 
arrayed, as the world shall one day see, in the 
the glory that is rightly His, which He refused 
to take save as the purchase of His cross that 
we too might share it with Him. 

Briefly reviewing these thoughts, we have : 
The fine linen, which speaks of His holy, spotless 
humanity, illustrated in the Gospel of Luke; 
the blue of His divine and heavenly character, 
as in John; the purple shows His royal character, 
as in Matthew; and the scarlet reminds us of His 
humiliation and subsequent glory, as seen in 
Mark. 

These various materials were wrought together 
in " cunning work," literally, "the work of a 
thinker." The cherubim were wrought, embroi- 
dered or woven with the four materials we have 
seen, according to a definite plan. The life of 
our Lord, which was the perfect expression of 
His person, was a beautiful, consistent, perfect 
whole. His life was the work of a "Thinker" 



The linen curtains and colors 71 

— whose whole thought and purpose was to 
glorify God and set forth His character. So also 
in the record of that character and life, we have 
the Holy Spirit's perfect work. The four colors, 
all woven and blended together, as seen in the 
four Gospels, are His work. There is perfect de- 
sign in each, and this manifests at the same time 
the Lord and the divine skill of the Holy Spirit 
who has displayed Him. What effacement of the 
human instrument there should be even in speak- 
ing of these things that nothing should mar the 
" pattern " so perfectly devised and executed. 

What themes are these, which may well move 
the heart to worship and praise. May our souls 
be mastered and filled with them, and our hearts 
Sflow with Spirit-given love and joy. 



LECTURE IV 

The Linen Curtains — their Dimensions, etc. 
(Ex. 36 : 8-13) 

HAYING looked at the colors and materials 
of the curtains, we will now seek to gather 
something of the meaning of their dimensions 
And arrangement. 

Ten curtains composed the inner covering, 
«*ach 4 cubits wide and 28 cubits long. These ten 
were united into two sets of five each, and these 
again linked together to form one complete 
covering. No specific mention, apparently, is 
made of the manner in which the five curtains 
were united to each other (it has been conjec- 
tured that it was by needle- work), but the direc- 
tions for uniting the two sets are very clear. 
Fifty loops of blue were made in the edge of 
each curtain, and fifty taches or clasps of gold 
were used to unite all into one tabernacle. 

This first covering of ten curtains was the 
tabernacle proper, or "dwelling-place," as the 
word literally means (Ex. 36: 14, and frequently). 
The other coverings seem to have been for 
special use in connection with the primary one, as 
protection (see Ex. 36: 14, where the goats' hair 



The linen curtains — dimensions, etc. 73 

covering is called "the tent over the tabernacle , ' 
and 36: 19, where the two others are designated 
simply as coverings). There is doubtless signifi- 
cance in this use of words. The "tabernacle,'' 
with its varied colors, cherubic figures and em- 
broidery, was far more elaborate than any of the 
others, and as we have partly seen, spoke iu a 
very complete way of our Lord. This first cover- 
ing, the tabernacle proper, represented Him 
in a way to which the other coverings were sub- 
sidiary. This will appear as we take them up. 

The word for "curtains " is Yerwtk, from a root 
meaning to tremble or wave — as suspended cur- 
tains do. A similar root with a similar primary 
meaning is the word for "fear." How suggest- 
ively do these thoughts describe the Lord Jesus 
as He was here. He was the dependent One, not 
relying upon His own inherent strength, but 
cleaving ever to His Father. He was perfectly 
obedient because perfectly dependent upon the 
will of God. Thus the true " fear " of the Lord 
characterized Him. He was ever moved by the 
slightest breath of the Spirit. There was thus, 
in the eye of man, entire weakness, for He had 
no will apart from perfect subjection to God; 
therefore the whole character of God with refer- 
ence to sin, the world and Satan was manifested. 
So also He gave fullest expression to God's 
thoughts and ways of mercy or of judgment witt, 
reference to man. 



74 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

The word "curtain" is a feminine, and in 
speaking of their being joined " one to another," 
it is "a woman to her sister." This too is in 
keeping with the lowly place of dependence and 
subjection taken and kept by our Lord. 

Returning now to the various dimensions of 
the inner covering, let us glean their meaning. 
In all structures, if there is to be symmetry, there 
must be accuracy of measurement, and for this 
there must be a standard. In Scripture this stan- 
dard was the cubit, or A mmah y from a word mean- 
ing ' * mother. " It was the length of the ' 'mother- 
arm," the fore-arm, as the chief and prominent 
part of the arm, from the elbow to the tip of the 
finger; that which is used in all work. It was 
thus a standard taken from man, not above him. 
God's requirements are absolutely reasonable 
and righteous, not going beyond human capacity. 
And yet how true it is that not one of the fallen 
sons of Adam could measure up to that perfect 
human standard: "All have sinned and come 
short of the glory of God." But God delights in 
man, and even the measurement of the heavenly 
city is by the human standard. It is the measure 
of a man (Rev. 21: 17). If God is to be in any 
measure apprehended by His creatures, it must 
be, not in that unutterable glory and infinity 
which no one knoweth but the Son, but rather in 
the One who humbled Himself and was found in 
fashion as a man. How amazing ! God is mani- 



The linen curtains — dimensions, etc. 75 

fested in -he flesh, and we are invited to apply 
the standard of measurement (which is in our 
hands and by which we have been condemned as 
having fallen short of God's glory) to Him, and 
to see how perfectly He has measured up to the 
fullest requirements of God. 

Thus in the very unit of measurement to be 
applied to the curtains, we are reminded of our 
Lord's incarnation. He was and is God, but He 
is that eternal life which was with the Father and 
was manifested unto us, so that John could say, 
4 ' Which we have seen with our eyes and our 
hands have handled " (i Jno. i: i). 

All thorough measurement takes in every di- 
mension. Thus the curtains were measured both 
in length and breadth. 

" Length" is the extension, and may well 
stand for the whole course of life. It is used in 
this way in Scripture — "Length of days" is a 
familiar expression. 

"Breadth" is from the root meaning "spac- 
ious," "roomy." It is used constantly in speak- 
ing of the dimensions of the tabernacle and 
temple, both in Solomon's day and the yet 
future structure described in Ezekiel. It has, 
however, a metaphorical use with which we are 
familiar. Thus Solomon had great largeness 
(breadth) of heart (i Kings 4: 29): "I will walk 
at liberty (or broadness) " — Ps. 119; 45; Isa. 60: 
5; Ps. 81: 10; Ps. 119: 32, 



76 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

In an evil sense it is used for pride — "A high 
look and a proud (broad) heart" (Ps. 101 : 5; 
Prov. 21: 4; 28: 25). 

" Breadth" thus suggests the character of the 
life and its attendant circumstances. In speak- 
ing then of our Lord's life, " length" wculd 
suggest its whole course, and "breadth" its 
character and the circumstances in which this 
was displayed. 

What then were the dimensions of these cur- 
tains ? They were four cubits wide and twenty- 
eight long. Four is the number of the earth. Scrip- 
ture speaks of the "four corners of the earth" 
(Isa. 11: 12). The fourth book of the Bible, Num- 
bers, speaks of the wilderness journey and trial of 
the Lord's people. We have been seeing how the 
four Gospels present our Lord in His perfect 
human character, tested in every way. This is 
gone into at large in other places,* and it will 
suffice us here to say that four is the number 
which speaks of the earth, of the creature, of 
trial and of weakness. The creature when tested 
manifests weakness and, too often, failure. Let 
us now apply the significance of this number to 
our Lord, and see wherein it corresponds to His 
life, and wherein it does not. 

First of all, it is the number of the earth, of 

* See Numerical Bible Vol. I , Introduction, and The Numerical 
Structure of Scripture, by F. W. Grant, for a full examination 
of this important subject. 



The linen curtains — dimensions, etc. 77 

the creature. It suggests, as we have already- 
seen, our Lord's human nature and not His deity. 
It speaks of Him as He walked the earth — that 
is the breadth of the curtain. 

But four also speaks of weakness; and how our 
Lord illustrated weakness here! Who would 
have thought of the Son of God coming to earth 
as a Man in the way He did ? Look for the Son 
of the Highest whom the angels are celebrating, 
and what do you find ? — a "babe" the weakest of 
beings, " wrapped in swaddling clothes/' badge 
of helplessness, for One who had clothed Him- 
self with light as with a garment, " lying in a 
manger," in company with the beasts! O Lord of 
glory, let all the universe worship before Thee, 
who didst thus humble Thyself! 

Trace our Lord throughout His life, and we 
find the characteristics of this weakness — this 
earth number. " Foxes have holes, and the birds 
of the air have nests, but the Son of Man hath not 
where to lay His head " (Matt. 8: 20). We never 
read of His performing a miracle to help Him- 
self — freely and lavishly as He spent Himself 
and used His power in behalf of others, He was 
the dependent One. He feeds 5000 men with a 
few loaves, but will not turn one stone into 
bread for Himself. 

Four also speaks of temptation, of trial and 
testing. The earth is the place where man is 
cried; what weakness and failure it brings out 



78 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

No one was ever so fully tested as our blessed 
Lord, not only in the forty days, and the special 
temptations of Satan which closed it, but through- 
out His entire life He endured the " contradic- 
tion of sinners against Himself " (Heb. 12 : 3). 
Thus this measure of four cubits broad speaks of 
man, weak, tempted, tried — of Him, surely, who 
can be " touched with the feeling of our infirm- 
ities," and " who was in all points tempted as we 
are, apart from sin" (Heb. 4: 15). 

The length of these curtains was twenty-eight 
cubits. Resolving this number into two factors, 
we have 4x7. The four, as we have just been 
seeing, is the number of the earth and of weak- 
ness. Seven is the familiar number (perhaps 
the most familiar of all) which speaks of com- 
pleteness and perfection. 1 Seven days make a 
complete week; the seven fat and lean kine of 
Pharaoh's dream (Gen. 41: 1-8), and the various 
series of seven in the book of Revelation, are 
illustrations of this. Seven times four would 
suggest then that testing, trial and weakness in 
our Lord which were only the occasion of mani- 
festing His perfection. 

Notice that the seven is not added to the four, 
as though something distinct from it, but multi- 
plies the four; weakness and dependence per- 
fectly exhibited what He was. He was not 
perfect in spite 0/ temptation merely, but perfect 
in it. See how Satan tries to move Him from 



The linen curtains — dimensions, etc. 79 

the place of dependence by urging Him to make 
bread from stones. It might have been adding 
7 to 4 to have wrought a miracle under such cir- 
cumstances; it would at least have shown His 
power. But instead, we see perfection in weak- 
ness and dependence. So also to have cast Him- 
self down from the pinnacle of the temple might 
have shown supernatural agency, but the perfec- 
tion of obedience is seen in His refusal to tempt 
the Lord His God. When He refused to bow to 
Satan, though offered all the kingdoms of this 
world and their glory, we can conceive Him as 
compelling that enemy of God and man to own 
Him as Creator and Lord, for such He was; but 
we see the perfection still in the way of lowli- 
ness — He Himself will worship, and thus lead 
the homage of all creation: "Thou shalt worship 
the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve " 
(Matt. 4: 10). 

And wherever we consider our Lord in His 
life upon earth we find this same characteristic 
manifested. Wearied with His journey and rest- 
ing Himself at the well of Sychar, He asks drink 
of the woman who came thitherto draw (John 4). 
Here is the number four, weakness and depen- 
dence; but in the heart-searching conversation 
He shows her all her sin and Himself as the 
Christ; we see the seven (the perfection) in con- 
nection with the lowly place He had taken. It is 
striking that throughout John's Gospel our Lord 



80 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

dwells constantly upon His subjection to His 
Father, and nowhere do we see His perfection 
more clearly. 

Again, see Him sleeping in the stern of the 
boat, as they are crossing the lake (Matt. 8: 24- 
26) ; but, awakened by His affrighted disciples, 
He rises and quiets their fears, and for their 
sakes hushes the storm; for Himself He could 
rest in His Father's care, and sleep while the 
storm raged. All through the Gospels He is thus 
seen, dependent, obedient, tempted, but per- 
fect in it all. 

The constant habit of prayer illustrates this 
same truth. What could be more beautiful than 
to see our Lord at every stage pouring out His 
heart to the Father? The very agony of Geth- 
semane — may we tread softly as we speak of it — 
shows a perfection which is perfectly human, yet 
possessed by no one else. "Crucified through 
weakness" (2 Cor. 13: 4) — what perfection in 
each part of that awful suffering! Truly the 
curtain is twenty-eight cubits long: the whole 
" length " of His life manifested absolute perfec- 
tion in entire dependence. 

These curtains were united into two sets of 
five each, making ten in all. Five is the number 
of human capacity, as the four fingers and thumb 
upon the hand; the two hands making ten in all. 
The ten reminds us of the ten commandments, 
the measure of man's full responsibility. The 



The linen curtains — dimensions, etc. 81 

ten commandments were upon two tables, show- 
ing responsibility, Godward and manward.* The 
two sets of curtains would suggest this two-fold 
responsibility met by our Lord. Look at His re- 
lation to God; what was there lacking in every 
moment of His life ? We have the witness of 
our Lord as to this: "I do always those things 
that please Him " (Jno. 8: 29) ; of the Father who 
spoke from the excellent glory, " This is My be- 
loved Son, in whom I am well pleased M (Matt. 3 : 
17), and of the Holy Spirit who anointed and 
abode upon Him. 

We may apply each of the first four command- 
ments to Him, and even with our imperfect 
apprehension, cannot fail to see the four and the 
twenty-eight cubits. 4< Thou shalt have no other 
gods before Me." Well did every act of the 
lowly Man show this. God's thought in that com- 



* We may see how frequ* ntly the number ten and its factor 
five is found in the description of the tabernacle. There were 
ten inner curtains (chap. 26 : 1) ; the boaids were ten cubits 
high (chap. 26 : 16) ; the pillars and sockets on the west and 
east sides of the court were ten (chap. 27: 12). The dimensi- ns 
of the court were 100x50. In all likelihood the holy of holies 
was a perfect cube of ten cubits There were one hundred 
sockets of silver, 10x10 (chap 38: 27), and these were com 
posed of the redemption monev, ten gerahs for each man ( chap. 
30: 13). The loops and taches were 50 = 10x5 (chap 26 : 5). 
The pillars at the door were five (chap. 26 : 37). There w^re 
five bars on each of the three sides of the tabernacle (chap. 26: 
26). The altar of burnt offering was five cubits square, and the 
hangings of the court were five cubits high (chap. 27 : 18). 



82 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

mand was exhibited in Him. God was in all His 
thoughts. So there never was the slightest ap- 
proach to that idolatry forbidden in the second 
commandment, which in some form has been 
practised by all men. Covetousness is idolatry. 
Here was One who could say in all the energy 
of His holy soul, "The lines are fallen unto Me 
in pleasant places ; yea, I have a goodly heritage. " 
It was in this connection that He said: " Their 
sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after 
another god; their drink offerings of blood will I 
not offer, nor take up their names into My lips " 
(Ps. 16: 4-6). How opposite was all this to Israel, 
who had been commanded: "Make no mention 
of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard 
out of thy mouth " (Ex. 23: 13). Who for a mo- 
ment would think of connecting the name of our 
Lord Jesus with the slightest act of disloyalty to 
His God and Father ? 

"Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord 
thy God in vain." Alas, from the heart of man, 
among other evils, comes profanity. The Father's 
name was ever on our Lord's lips, but never in a 
light way. He taught and practised in absolute 
perfection that petition, "Hallowed be Thy name. " 
So also in the performance of vows : none had ever 
fulfilled their obligations and promises to God. 
Therefore our Lord warned them against taking 
oaths which they could not keep (Matt. 5 : 33-37). 
But He could say, " Thy vows are upon Me, C 



The linen curtains — dimensions, etc. 83 

God" (Ps. 56 : 12); "I will pay My vows unto 
the Lord now in the presence of all His people " 
(Ps. 116: 14). What vows they were ! — to glorify 
God about sin; to seek and to save the lost; to 
lay deep, firm and broad the eternal foundations 
of redemption; to bring many to glory. As we 
contemplate the cost of performing these vows, 
may we adore Him who never made a rash vow, 
nor broke a single engagement entered into 
with His God and Father. 

44 Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy." 
The Pharisees were constantly accusing Him of 
breaking the Sabbath because He healed the 
sick on that day. He not only convicted them of 
hypocrisy, for they would lift an ox out of a pit 
on the Sabbath, but showed what the true rest 
of God is — to deliver men from the consequences 
of sin. These so-called violations of the Sabbath 
were, morally, the most beautiful and perfect 
keeping of the obligation. 

Let us take up each of these commands of the 
first table, and as we go fully into detail we will 
only see more clearly His absolute perfection as 
Man. Glorifying God in every relation, His 
heart ever breathed, " I delight to do Thy will, 
O God." Here indeed was a fitting abode for the 
glory of God — the holy of holies of the heart and 
life of Christ. 

We are told that the veil was to be hung up 
under the taches that united the two sets of the 



84 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

covering (Ex. 26: 33), so that one set of five cov- 
ered the holy of holies (probably hanging over 
the back of the tabernacle) and the other the holy 
place. It is not fanciful to suggest that the part 
which covered the holy of holies typifies our 
Lord's perfection in all responsibilities Godward, 
and the part which covered the holy place refers 
to the responsibilities manward. Let us look at 
this last also for a moment. 

The foundation of all right human relation- 
ships is obedience to the first command of the 
second table: "Honorthy father and thy mother." 
So our Lord perfectly manifested that subjection : 
" He went dow r n with them, and came to Naza- 
reth, and was subject unto them " (Luke 2 151). 
How much is involved in those simple words, 
and how perfect was He in this primary respon- 
sibility. It is little wonder that as He grew in 
stature, He "increased in favor with God and 
man." That is, all His growth was good, no dis- 
appointing characteristics appeared, for none 
were there : all was well-pleasing both to God 
and man. 

It was therefore perfectly fitting that He 
should rebuke the hypocrisy of those who under 
the plea of dedicating a thing to God, neglected 
their parents (Matt. 15: 3-9). None was devoted 
to God as was He, yet none showed such honor 
and obedience to those who were over Him in 
earthly relationships. It is beautiful to see in 



The linen curtains — dimensions, etc. 85 

the extremity of death that He forgot nothing 
of this: "Behold thy mother" (John 19: 26, 27) 
shows that in going to His Father in heaven, He 
did not ignore the lowly earthly tie which in 
perfect grace He had assumed. 

And so, as we look at each of these commands 
of the second table, we find the righteousness 
required most perfectly fulfilled, and more, in 
the life of our Lord. Man lustfully desires what 
is not his own, and gets it even if it be by theft; 
He could say, "Then I restored that which I 
took not away" (Ps. 69: 4). Himself spotless and 
pure, He speaks peace and pardon to poor chil- 
dren of sin and shame. Men bore false witness, 
but He declared the solemn truth no matter how 
dreadful it was, and bore faithful testimony to 
the love and mercy of God. Maker and pos- 
sessor of all things, He had not where to lay His 
head, yet never murmured. 

Indeed, we might well shrink from applying 
these prohibitions to Him, as if He needed to be 
checked. What in man must be kept under, did 
not exist in Him. The law was in His heart; the 
law, therefore, so far as it went, was a copy of 
His perfect character, not in its external require- 
ments merely, but in its inner and most spiritual 
application. 

But He more than fulfilled the law's second 
table. It said, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor 
as thyself," but He loved His enemies, even to 



86 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

laying down His life for them. He was indeed 
the neighbor to all the world of need — a " Friend 
of sinners." Every responsibility toward God 
and man thus fully met in Him showed His per- 
fection. When we remember that this same law, 
which was adorned and beautified by Him, is the 
instrument of convicting of sin the best of man- 
kind, His sinless perfection is only the more ap- 
parent. That which is "the strength of sin" 
(1 Cor. 15: 56) in us, was the proof of righteous- 
ness in Him. Let us be reminded again that all 
this perfection was human ; it was a multiple of 
four. Weakness, dependence, subjection, were 
the background upon which all the beauties of 
His peerless character were displayed. 

The ten curtains had one "measure;" the 
word means to extend, to stretch, and thus to 
apply the standard. This is a striking picture of 
the Lord's life ; every part of it was according to 
an unvarying standard. Nothing was out of pro- 
portion. In each act and in connection with 
every person there was the exhibition of the 
same perfection in weakness. 

Looking at each of the ten commandments 
we cannot say that one was more fully kept than 
another. It is this unevenness of character which 
shows the unfitness of man for God, and his need 
for new birth. Though one might seem to obey 
one or another of the commandments — though 
coming short of God's glory in all — "whosoever 



The linen curtains — dimensions, etc. 8? 

shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one 
point, he is guilty of all " (Jas. 2: 10). So we 
must turn from self completely, either for salva- 
tion or sanctification. Christ is the only resource. 
Here was the one measure for each act. God's 
glory was the test, and that was manifested in 
perfection everywhere. He was not more per- 
fect in rebuking sin and hypocrisy than in par- 
doning and healing the sin-sick soul. Grace did 
not eclipse righteousness, nor righteousness 
grace. Patience was ever coupled with prompt- 
ness; firmness with gentleness. 

" Thy name encircles every grace 
That God as Man could show ; 
There only could He fully trace 
A life divine below." 

This brings us lastly to look at the way iff 
which these two sets of curtains were connected. 
The word for coupling together is a suggestive 
one; it is from the same root as " Hebron," 
which means friendship, companionship. This, 
too, shows absolute unity of character in our 
Lord. The aspiration of the psalmist, " Unite 
my heart to fear Thy name " (Ps. 86: 11), found 
perfect realization in Him. The "curtains," as 
we have seen, are closely allied with the word "to 
fear," and thus illustrate the unity in the fear 
of God exemplified in our Lord. 

It is also well to note that the curtains were 
joined side by side, and not end to end. Thus 



88 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

they were parallel to each other, and co exten- 
sive. There were no successive periods when His 
life entered into new or hitherto unknown claims 
of the will of God. The path opened up before 
Him, new experiences of the wilderness world 
were entered into, but the full responsibility of 
perfect love to God and man was with Him from 
the beginning to the end. If we may use the 
language, He walked according to the whole ten 
commandments throughout His life. 

As to the manner of uniting each of the cur- 
tains to the others, while they may have been 
united by needlework or some other way, Scrip- 
ture is silent; yet there seems to be an evident 
purpose of the Spirit to draw our attention 
especially to the union of the two sets of five 
each. Doubtless the lesson which they emphasize 
will be found in good measure in all the others. 

May we not find one reason in the fact that 
man so easily separates between his responsibil- 
ities Godward and manward ? In all natural re- 
ligion this is the case. God is excluded from the 
realm of daily life; duties to one's neighbor, the 
responsibilities of the home and business, are 
things which we must care for ourselves; neither 
God's will nor His help are to be greatly consid- 
ered, beyond the general claims of honesty, 
morality and unselfishness. 

Our Lord's reply to the lawyer (Luke 10: 25, 
etc.) brings out this thought in man's heart. 



The linen curtains — dimensions, etc. 89 

Rightly the lawyer had answered that the law de- 
manded perfect love to God and to one's neigh- 
bor. Alas that with this knowledge, he should 
think he could inherit eternal life by doing what 
he never had done and never could do, for "by 
the law is the knowledge of sin" (Rom. 3: 20) — but 
not the power to keep the law. Instead of own- 
ing his sin and casting himself upon the mercy 
of God, he, "willing to justify himself, said unto 
Jesus, And who is my neighbor! " Notice that 
he omits entirely all reference to God — the 
claims of the first table. God is so far away, un- 
seen and unknowm, may it not be taken for 
granted that he loves and serves Him ? Now, if 
he can reduce his neighbors to a few congenial 
friends, may he not hope by doing his duty to 
them to deserve the reward of life eternal ? Thus 
in the lawyer's mind there was apparently but 
little connection between the two sets of curtains. 
And this is but the common thought of men. 
If a man loves his fellow-men he loves God; it is 
accepted as true gospel, and the "golden rule" 
readily taken for gran ted as quite practicable ; thus 
is God robbed of His claim upon His creatures. 
But Scripture says, "This commandment have 
we from Him, That he who loveth God, love his 
brother also" (1 Jno. 4: 21). This reverses man's 
thought, and gives God His rightful place cf 
supremacy and control, or, rather, recognizes 
these as His, 



90 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

But with our Lord there was no such sunder- 
ing of responsibilities, nor ignoring for one mo- 
ment the fact that He had "come down from 
heaven not to do Mine own will, but the will of 
Him that sent Me " (J no. 6:38). This we shall 
see illustrated in the manner in which the two 
sets of curtains were joined together. 

" Looloth" (loops) is from a root meaning to 
roll. There can be no question as to the mean- 
ing and object of these. Possibly the word 
may suggest the idea of roundness answering to 
the "eye " through which the hook passed with- 
out entering into the material of the curtains 
themselves. These were entire, and each was 
perfect. The "loop" which was put upon them 
was an addition in the sense that the vehicle for 
uniting the one set to the other did not interfere 
with the pattern of the curtain. 

How our Lord illustrated this! His love for 
man was as complete as though that were the 
whole of His life. So that even unbelief has 
been constrained to acknowledge the beauty of 
His human character. There it was, and He is 
the ideal Man in relation to men — but how much 
more! In like manner, His love to God was as 
absolute as though there was not a man in ex- 
istence. He stands out as the Second Man, for 
whom God was all. But in the "outermost 
edge" of each set were put the loops of blue, 
as reminding us that God would show there is 



The linen curtains — dimensions, etc. 91 

a divinely-formed link between responsibilities 
to Him and to His creature, man. We cannot 
conceive of our Lord as thinking of man and 
leaving out God, nor the reverse. He was neither 
a recluse nor a mere philanthropist. 

The loops were blue, we have seen — the color 
of heaven. Thus the fact that He was from 
heaven, lived in heaven, and was to return to 
heaven characterized His whole life of obedience. 
The mark of heaven was upon it all. Upon that 
which spoke of His perfect love and obedience to 
God were the loops of blue, to show that such 
love and obedience were to be united to a life 
upon earth in which its responsibilities were to 
be made one with His service to God. So the 
blue loops upon the second set of curtains show 
that all was of one with His devotedness to God. 

No life ever was so perfectly given up to God 
as was His: heart, soul, mind and strength were 
all and always for God. Yet this devotedness 
did not make of Him a recluse. There is not the 
slightest thought of that selfish monasticism with 
which human self-righteousness has linked the 
name of Christianity. He loved His Father per- 
fectly, but that was the pledge of His perfect 
love to man. No hands or heart, on the other 
hand, were ever so filled with love and labjr for 
men; but there was nothing of the sentimental 
nor merely philanthropic in this. The loops of 
blue were upon all, linking all with His Father's 



92 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

will. He wrought many miracles : blind re- 
ceived their sight, lepers were cleansed, the 
lame walked, the dead were raised; but we can- 
not think of these works of love and power to- 
ward men as ending there. He was manifesting 
the works which the Father gave Him to do: " I 
must work the works of Him that sent Me"; 
" The Father that dwelleth in Me, He doeth the 
works" (Jno. 9:4; 14: 10). 

Here is the true 'Neighbor," whose love to 
man was ever in obedience to His love to God. 
This thought is further enhanced by the number 
of loops and the taches of gold which united 
them each to each. There were fifty, which is 
5x5x2, or full responsibility — intensified re- 
sponsibility, may we not say ? in the multiplica- 
tion of the two fives — and this doubled, as 
though suggesting again the two sides, the hu- 
man and divine; and thus a perfect witness 
to His fulfilment of every requirement. Or 
should we say 10x5, we have really the same 
thought, for the factors are the same. In His 
devotedness to God there breathed the love to 
man which ever marked Him whose " delights 
were with the sons of men." Thus no command 
obeyed stood alone, but was linked with all the 
others. It was a seamless robe. 

And is not this the only obedience which can 
be acceptable with God? "Whosoever shall 
keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, 



The linen curtains — dimensions, etc. 93 

he is guilty of all " (Jas. 2 : 10). To have any true 
righteousness it must be complete; all else is 
partial and but " filthy rags," even though it be 
to bestow all one's goods to feed the poor, or to 
give one's body to be burned. Here, as every- 
where, all calls aloud for Christ, the only One 
who could undertake such an obedience and 
glorify God. 

This last thought is illustrated by the fifty 
golden taches or hooks which united the loops 
together.* Gold, as we shall see later on, typi- 
fies divine glory. It was this which was ever 
before our Lord: " Father, glorify Thy name " 
(Jno. 12: 28) was His one desire. "I honor My 
Father" (Jno. 8: 49). "I have glorified Thee on 
the earth " (Jno. 17 : 4). What perfect absence of 
self-seeking or self-consciousness does all this 
tell! But are we not further reminded that such 
obedience while human needed more than hu- 
man power to render it? No mere creature 
alone could render it — certainly no fallen crea- 



* The word for taches, karsim, is from a verb meaning to stoop 
or bend, which is so rendered in Isaiah 46 : 1, 2. There it is 
the degradation of the false gods of Babylon which are carried 
away. 

Here the bending or hook is to form a link to hold fast what 
is due to God and man. May it not suggest the grace of Him 
who stooped to exhibit God's thought as to man ? It may well 
speak to us of His humbling Himself to lay hold, as it were, 
upon the creation to bring it into eternal harmony with its 
Maker. 



94 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

ture. The golden taches remind us that the per- 
fect character at which we have been looking is 
not only human but divine. A divine person, yet 
truly a Man, united in Himself all obedience, all 
love to God and man; and upon this fact hangs 
— may we not say ? — that mystery shown in the 
veil, of "God manifest in the flesh." 

So to deny the deity of Christ is to break the 
bond that made His life a perfect unity, and to 
leave but a fragment behind, itself stained and 
marred by false claims, were He not really the 
Son of God. Men who talk about the loveliness 
of Jesus, His kindness, His beneficence, His 
blameless life, and yet who deny that He is the 
eternal Son of God, are but self-deceived and de- 
ceiving others. These clasps of gold were essen- 
tial for uniting the coverings into one perfect 
whole; were they omitted all would be marred. 
Where there is a deliberate, intentional rejec- 
tion of His deity, it is defiling the temple of God; 
and such are truly His enemies. But even where 
this is not the case, the people of God may lose 
the true proportion of truth as to our Lord's 
blessed person, if they fail to keep prominently 
before them the great and glorious fact, "The 
Word was God." May the Holy Spirit keep His 
blessed, peerless person not only before our 
minds, but enshrined in our hearts, the Object 
of our worship, love and willing obedience. 



LECTURE V 

The Covering of Goats' Hair 
(Exodus 36 : 14-18.) 

WE have now reached the second covering 
of the Tabernacle, or "the tent over the 
tabernacle," as it is called. The first covering, 
already examined, was the tabernacle proper, to 
which all the other coverings were accessory. 

This second covering was made of goats' hair 
— probably spun, as we read, "All the women 
whose heart stirred them up in wisdom spun 
goats' hair" (Ex. 35: 26). This was woven into 
a coarse, dark-colored cloth, quite common to 
this day in the East for making tents. The dark 
color of these tents is suggested in the words of 
the bride in the Song of Solomon: "I am black, 
but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the 
tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon" 
(chap. 1 : 5) — black as the tents of Kedar, comely 
as the curtains of Solomon. The dark color of the 
goats' hair is also seen in the same book: " Thy 
hair is as a flock of goats " (chap. 6:5). Thus the 
goats' hair was evidently dark or black. 

This is doubtless the proper rendering, though 
the word for hair is omitted. This is the case, 
however, in passages where there could be no 



96 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

question that the hair is intended, as in chapter 
35 : 26, "The women . . . spun goats' [hair]. 
The previous verse, 25, would show that this was 
used in connection with the curtains. Indeed no 
other use for goats' hair is given. Had the 
"skins" of goats been intended, that word would 
doubtless have been used, as in the description 
of the two outer coverings of rams' and badgers' 
skins (chap. 26: 14). 

The reason why the word hair is omitted may 
be, first, that our attention is thus more closely 
called to the goats — the significance of the ani- 
mal; secondly, the chief word for "hair "is from 
the same root as, and closely allied with, the word 
for goat; though there are two words for "goat," 
one meaning a hairy one and the other, used 
here, meaning a strong one. Where these are 
used together they mean a buck of the goats. 
(Gen. 37: 31; Lev. 4: 23, etc.). A third reason, 
closely allied with the first, may be that the 
living goat is thus prominently put before us, as 
though we might say the hair was upon it 

In addition to its use for tents, this cloth of 
goats' hair was also, probably, what is called 
sackcloth: "The sun became black as sackcloth 
of hair " (Rev. 6: 12). This was used in mourn- 
ing and afflicting the soul, as in repentance: 
" They would have repented long ago in sack- 
cloth and ashes" (Matt. 11: 21). The raiment 
of John the Baptist was of camels' hair, similar 



The covering of goats' hair 97 

to this (Matt. 3- 4), and Elijah was described as 
being a " hairy man" with a leathern girdle 
(2 Kings 1:8); the hairy garment giving him, per- 
haps, that appearance. The "two witnesses " 
gave their prophetic testimony "clothed in sack- 
cloth " (Rev. 11: 3). And in Zechariah, speak- 
ing of the prophets, it was said, "Neither shall 
they wear a rough garment [margin, garment 
of hair] to deceive" (Zech. 13: 4). 

From these passages, we see that sackcloth was 
the badge of mourning, used at times of bereave- 
ment, calamity, or individual and national re- 
pentance. It was worn by the prophets, doubt- 
less as in keeping with their own mourning and 
the call to the people to repent. 

Recurring now to the curtains, and remember- 
ing that they speak of our Lord's person, we 
gather that in these goats' hair coverings we 
have Him presented as the Prophet. 

He was frequently spoken of as a prophet. 
When He disclosed to the woman of Samaria her 
sin, she said, "Sir, I perceive that Thou art a 
prophet" (Jno. 4: 19). He had spoken for and 
from God. When He had fed the five thousand, 
the people said, "This is of a truth that Prophet 
that should come into the world" (Jno. 6: 14). 
Moses had predicted that God would send such a 
Prophet: "A Prophet shall the Lord your God 
raise up unto you like unto me ; Him shall ye hear 
in all things whatsoever He shall say unto you. 



98 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

And it shall come to pass, that every soul which 
will not hear that Prophet, shall be destroyed 
from among the people " (Acts 3: 22, 23). The 
man in John 9, whose eyes had been opened by 
our Lord, when asked what he had to say of 
Him, answered, " He is a prophet " (ver. 17). 

As we have noticed, these coverings were 
made, not of the skin, but of the hair of goats. 
We will get later the significance of the skin, in 
connection with the next covering, of rams' skins 
dyed red. May we, without being fanciful, sug- 
gest a few thoughts in connection with the ani- 
mals' hair ? 

It is the outermost covering of all, over the 
skin, and is the point of contact between the 
animal and the outer world; it is also the point 
of separation. The hair shields the animal 
from the rain, and protects it from extremes of 
cold and heat. Thus it indicates separation. So 
the Nazarite let his hair grow long in token of 
his separation from everything that would defile 
(Num. 6: 5). If defilement came in, he had to 
shave off his hair in token that he had lost his 
separation. One of the signs of leprosy was the 
hair turning its color, or sometimes its falling 
out was the precursor of this disease (Lev. 13: 
30, 42). The vigor of separation not being main- 
tained, defilement and sin resulted. 

And was it not this intense spirit of separation 
from surrounding evil which characterized the 



The covering of goats* hair 99 

prophets of the Old Testament ? Samuel, the 
first of the prophets, was thus marked out by the 
promise to his mother before his birth: " I will 
give him unto the Lord all the days of his life, 
and there shall no razor come upon his head " (i 
Sam.i: n). His long hair of Nazariteship was to 
mark his relationship to God, and be a witness to 
the nation of their alienation from Him. How 
nobly his life answered to this badge of office 
can be seen from the subsequent chapters of the 
book we have quoted. 

Passing from the badge to that of which it 
speaks, we find this separation strongly marked 
in the writings of all the prophets, in none per- 
haps more strongly than in Jeremiah: " I sat not 
in the assembly of the mockers, nor rejoiced; I 
sat alone because of Thy hand : for Thou hast 
filled me with indignation" (Jer. 15: 17). Nor 
was this a misanthropic aloofness from his fel- 
lows by one self-occupied or morbid. He had a 
spring of joy which kept his own soul fresh in 
the midst of the moral desert about him, as the 
previous verse shows: " Thy words were found, 
and I did eat them, and Thy word was unto me 
the joy and rejoicing of my heart " (ver. 16). 

As is well known, the ministry of the prophets 
did not begin till the failure of the people and of 
the priesthood made it necessary. Thus Samuel 
began his work after the failure of Eli and his 
sons. We find that the primary work of the 



100 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

prophet was not to predict future events, but to 
speak for God, and to call back the people to a 
true judgment of their ways. We do indeed get 
most wonderful and glorious predictions: the 
destiny of the nations, the recovery of Israel and 
its future glory; above all, the kingdom of Christ 
our Lord — we shall find these themes dwelt upon 
on many a bright page of the Prophets. But the 
dark, sombre background upon which all these 
pictures of glory are projected is the abundant 
witness to the people of their sin, and solemn 
threats of coming judgment. These predominate : 
" Cry aloud, spare not . . . show My people 
their transgression" (Isa. 58: 1). 

So, as we have seen, our Lord was frequently 
spoken of as a prophet. He Himself spoke of 
John the Baptist as " a prophet, and more than 
a prophet" (Matt, n: 9). And after John's im- 
prisonment He took up the same prophetic work, 
" Repent ye, and believe the gospel" (Mark 1 : 15). 
He was indeed more — how much more! — than a 
prophet; but His ministry of mercy and grace 
was ever connected with the solemn witness of 
the sin of the people to whom He had come. 
Particularly did His constant witness to the hy- 
pocrisy of the Pharisees and leaders of the peo- 
ple show the garment of goats' hair. For Him, 
too, it was the garment of sorrow, for the stern 
rebukes of sin and warnings of judgment came 
from the tenderest and strongest heart that ever 



The covering of goats' hair 101 

beat, if we may compare the Lord and Master 
with even His most faithful servants. Jerusa- 
lem, which had heard His warnings, was also the 
subject of tears and lamentations: M He beheld 
the city and wept over it "; " O Jerusalem, Jeru- 
salem, which killest the prophets, and stonest 
them that are sent unto thee; how often would 
I have gathered thy children together, as a hen 
doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye 
would not" (Luke 13: 34). Thus both character- 
istics of the prophet are manifest in Him — the 
faithful and complete rebuke of sin and the 
spirit of mourning. In how many cases is this 
manifest: grace, purest grace, is seen in dealing 
with the woman of Samaria, but her sin was not 
condoned in the slightest degree. 

There is no such thing, in dealing with God, 
as covering up sin. " He that covereth his sins 
shall not prosper" (Prov. 28: 13), and God only 
deals with men on the basis of what they are. If 
a man comes to God claiming to be righteous, 
God must refuse him: "The proud He knoweth 
afar off" (Ps. 138: 6). The Pharisee and publican 
teach us this. He will only meet in grace those 
whom His holiness has already convicted of sin. 
So our Lord, the bearer of God's message of love 
to the world, was ever the Prophet; the garment 
of goats' hair did not misbecome Him who in 
divine grace came to seek and to save the lost. 

We need hardly add that in Him this prophetic 



102 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

service was accompanied by the true prophet's 
separation from all evil. While not in dress or 
manner holding aloof from men, he was absolu- 
tely in heart separate unto God, the true Naza- 
rite, set apart to God alone, " separate from sin- 
ners " (Heb. 7: 26). He came "eating and drink- 
ing" (Matt. 11: 19). He sat at table with pub- 
licans and sinners (Luke 5 : 30) — with Pharisees 
too (Luke 7 : 36) — but He was ever separate ; none 
could for a moment confound Him with those 
among whom He walked. If He attended the 
marriage feast, He never forgot His " hour " and 
the message He had to give (Jno. 2:4); and 
when He took little children in His arms to bless 
them, it was with words of invitation to come to 
Himself, the true way into the kingdom (Luke 
18: 16). 

This is the true separation, the true garment 
of goats' hair, which He wore with perfect con- 
sistency as He moved in and out among men. 
Let lying lips call Him "a gluttonous man and a 
winebibber," in their souls they knew He was in 
very deed separate from it all. 

We read also of goats' hair used in an opposite 
way from what we have been learning, yet con- 
nected with it. We have already quoted the pas- 
sage in Zechariah, "Neither shall they wear a rough 
garment to deceive" ; and we read, in Genesis, of 
Jacob seeking to defraud Esau out of the bless- 
ing by the same means. There is a strange com- 



The covering of goats* hair 103 

mingling of faith and unbelief in Rebekah and 
Jacob. Both had faith enough to value the bless- 
ing, but not enough to trust God for it. So they 
seek to secure it by deceit. Jacob thus makes 
good his name of " supplanter." Bitterly does 
he reap all his sowing, and is himself deceived 
in much the same way, and in connection with a 
favorite son, as he had deceived his father Isaac. 
Esau was "a hairy man," and Rebekah took a 
kid of the goats, and covered Jacob's hands with 
it that it might seem to be Esau (Gen. 27: 16). 
So when Joseph's brethren sell him into Egypt, 
they take his coat of many colors, slay a kid of 
the goats and dip the garment into the blood, 
and show it to their father who thinks that his 
beloved son has been slain by an evil beast (Gen. 
37 : 3 I_ 3^)- * n both these cases a kid of the goats, 
not a lamb, was used for the purposes of decep- 
tion. We find the goats' hair used for a similar 
purpose when Michal, Saul's daughter, sought to 
deceive her father, from whom David had fled. 
In the parable of the judgment of the nations, 
our Lord speaks of those who have shown en- 
mity to Him and His people, as the goats; and 
the sheep stand for His own, to whom He gives 
life eternal (Matt. 25: 32). The dark color of the 
goat might also suggest this connection with 
sin, which we cannot call fanciful in the light of 
the scriptures at which we have been looking. 
This is also in accord with the garment of the 



104 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

prophet being of goats' hair. It was a confessio-n 
of the people's sin and a witness against it. 

The goat suggests sin, but its remedy also. 
In the sacrificial ordinances we find very fre- 
quent references made to the sin-offering, and 
in the majority of cases the goat, or "a kid of 
the goats, "is the animal used for that sacrifice. 
Thus, if a ruler sinned, he was to bring a male 
kid of the goats. In the case of one of the com- 
mon people, it was a female kid. With the tres- 
pass-offering it could be a lamb, or a kid of the 
goats (Lev. 5:6). So, too, in the consecration of 
the priests, the people were to offer a kid for a 
sin-offering (Lev. 9: 3, 15). On the great day of 
atonement we know the prominent place occu- 
pied by the two goats; one for a sin-offering and 
the other for the scape-goat (Lev. 16: 7-10): one 
being slain as a sin-offering, its blood taken into 
the holiest and sprinkled upon the mercy-seat; 
upon the head of the other, Aaron laid his hands 
confessing all the sins of the nation, " putting 
them upon the head of the goat," who would 
thus bear them away to "a land not inhabited" 
{literally, "a land cut off"). Here we have a 
two-fold type of Christ bearing the penalty of 
our sins, and thus giving us a title to enter the 
presence of the Holy God; and also taking them 
away so that they shall be remembered against 
us no more. 

In like manner, at the dedication of the altar, 



The covering of goats* hair 105 

the offerings of the princes of Israel included 
4 'one kid of the goats for a sin-offering" (Num. 
7: 16). We have the same mention in the pre- 
scription for the offerings at the feast of taber- 
nacles (Num. 29: 16, etc.) 

We remember, too, that the words for "sin" 
and " sin-offering" are the same. So it is said 
of our blessed Lord, " He hath made Him to be 
sin (or sin-offering) for us, who knew no sin " 
(2 Cor. 5: 21). 

The scriptures we have mentioned show that 
the goat suggested the sin, the witness of it, and 
the offering to put it away. We have seen the 
hair of the goat used for purposes of deception; 
the goats themselves spoken of by our Lord as 
contrasted with the sheep. Secondly, we have 
the garment of hair as the prophets' garb, con- 
nected with the witness against sin; and thirdly, 
the goat as the ordinary animal for the sin- 
offering. Thus the goat reminds us of our Lord 
as sin-bearer, who came "in the likeness of sin- 
ful flesh (Himself ever sinless), and for sin" 
(Rom. 8:3). But the covering was of the hair 
of the goat, not of the skin, suggesting that the 
sacrifice had not yet been offered, but pointing 
on to it- 

This covering, then, tells of that Prophet who 
uncovered all the sin of man, who showed him in 
his true character. He was the witness of man's 
sin, for "He knew what was in man." and who 



106 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

knew also what the perfect nature of God re- 
quired. Amidst abounding evil, His own soul 
was in perfect peace. He could denounce hy- 
pocrisy, bear solemn witness against the rich of 
this world, weep over poor fallen man, while the 
inmost depths of His holy soul were ever set 
upon His Father and His will. Thus He never 
repined at His lot, never was overwhelmed by 
the tumult of self-will which surged about Him, 
and never for a moment was bitter or misan- 
thropic. Jeremiah was so overwhelmed by the 
burden of being God's witness in a sinful and 
adulterous age that he cursed the day of his 
birth (Jer. 20 : 14). But there were no such 
hours of discouragement in our Lord's life: "Even 
so, Father, for so it seemed good in Thy sight " 
(Matt. 11: 26) was enough for Him. Thus He 
wore the prophet's garment of goats' hair as 
none other has. In this, as in all things else, 
He must have the preeminence. 

But more than this, no prophet could do more 
than witness against the sin, and point forward 
to the coming One who would deliver from it. 
But with our Lord, the very rebuke of sin was a 
reminder that He was to be the sin-bearer. His 
call to repentance was also a call to faith in Him- 
self — He was the giver of repentance. After 
having disclosed the evil in all its blackness, 
and having denounced it with unsparing faithful- 
ness, He goes to Calvary and bears the punish- 



The covering of goats' hair 107 

ment which is its due. Thus He is a prophet — 
but how much more than a prophet! 

We come now to the dimensions of the cur- 
tair s. There were eleven of these, as we have 
seen, divided into two sets of five and six respec- 
tively. The width of each curtain was four 
cubits, the same as those of the inner covering, 
but the length was thirty cubits instead of 
twenty-eight. Four, as we saw, is the number of 
the creature, of weakness, dependence and test- 
ing, and in relation to our Lord, refers to His 
human nature, in weakness and dependence, in 
which He was fully tested and His perfection 
fully brought out, as suggested by the twenty- 
eight cubits of the inner covering. But here 
we have a length of thirty cubits, which, no 
doubt, has a significance too. Have we not a sug- 
gestion in the number of these goats' hair cur- 
tains ? — eleven curtains, separated into two sets 
of five and six, which are the factors of thirty. 

Five is the number of responsibility, as we 
have already seen, and appropriately used in 
connection with our Lord's taking full responsi- 
bility in showing to man his sin. The prophet 
surely emphasized this in all his ministry; and 
how blessedly has the Sin offering met our re- 
sponsibility in salvation by taking the conse- 
quences of our sins and bearing them upon the 
cross. As we shall see later on, five is the num. 



108 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

ber which speaks of God with man — of incarna* 
tion. 

Six has its meaning suggested by its use in 
Scripture. The six days speak of toil and its 
limit: "Six days shalt thou labor "; they also 
suggest the dominion of the man, created on the 
sixth day, over the creature. The number is fre- 
quently associated with the effort of men to be 
independent of God. It entered into the height 
of Goliath, the defier of Israel, and the weight of 
his spear (i Sam. 17 : 4-7). It was a factor in 
both the width and height of the idolatrous im- 
age set up by Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. 3 : 1), a 
foreshadow of that " Beast " who gathers to him- 
self all that is great in manhood to oppose God, 
and whose number, that of a man, is 666 (Rev. 
13 : 18). But Goliath was overthrown, in the 
name of the living God, by David; the great im- 
age of Nebuchadnezzar was despised and insulted 
by the men of faith who went into the fiery furnace 
rather than bow to it; and the Beast is to be cast 
into the lake of fire. So God has put His limit 
upon man's day, and will triumph over him when 
he reaches his highest point. 

The sixth division of Isaiah contains that won- 
drous 53d chapter, which brings out both the evil 
of the natural heart and God's victory over it 
in the death of the Lord Jesus: not only a vic- 
tory in grace over souls who bow and receive 
Him in faith — blessed and glorious triumph that 



The covering of goats' hair 109 

is — but a pledge of the full and final triumph 
over all evil. "Thou hast put all things in sub- 
jection under His feet"; "That through death 
He might destroy him that had the power of 
death, that is, the devil" (Heb. 2: 8, 14); "That 
at the name of Jesus every knee should bow " 
(Phil. 2: 10). This triumph comes at the millennial 
age, the sixth age or dispensation of God's ways 
with man. The heavens have been purged by 
this blessed Sacrifice, and ere long will be 
purged by the power of Him whose obedience 
to death has given Him the right to reign and 
to subdue all things unto Himself. Thus Satan 
will be cast out of heaven (Rev. 12: 9), and he 
and all who choose their portion with him, will be 
eternally confined in the lake of fire. The Lamb 
will execute this judgment; the redemption by 
His death gives Him this place of victory over 
all evil. It is by virtue of His death that He 
takes and opens the seven-sealed book of judg- 
ment and of divine counsels: "Thou art worthy 
to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: 
for Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God 
by Thy blood" (Rev. 5: 9). 

But let us not forget that judgment is His 
"strange work," and that His victory upon the 
cross is for salvation primarily, "to everyone 
that believeth" (Rom. 1: 16). It was for this 
He came: "not to condemn the world, but that 
the world through Him might be saved " (John 



110 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

v: 17). Thus the element of six in the curtains 
speaks of the victory of Him who came to be the 
sin-offering. 

We apply this factor also to His life here as 
the Prophet of God. Evil met Him on every 
hand, but never overcame Him for a mo- 
ment. We do not allude to His personal spot- 
lessness, which could not be contaminated, but 
to the efforts of men to overthrow Him. In vain 
they laid snares to entangle Him, to involve Him 
in a denial of Caesar's claims to tribute, or the in- 
flnitely higher claims of God to the heart (Matt. 
22: 21). Neither divine holiness nor divine love 
could be compromised by Him. He was not to be 
cajoled by flattery, nor browbeaten by threats ; 
nor could He for one moment be turned from 
His testimony and the object of His mission. 
And all this was in the spirit of simple depen- 
dence and obedience. The width of the curtain 
— four cubits, the number of weakness and of 
the creature — w r as ever manifest in Him. But 
this note of victory over evil was ever present 
too; there were no hours of discouragement or 
repining. He might and did upbraid the cities 
which neglected and despised His message, but 
Hi's resource was to turn to His Father (Matt. 11 : 
20-28), and from that Presence to again utter 
sweetest words of love and mercy in the invita- 
tion enshrined by grace in the hearts of count- 
less saved ones. ; 



The covering of goats' hair 111 

Let us emphasize this perfect life and work of 
the prophet, by contrasting it with that of His 
people — none of whom can measure up to the 
full standard. What is signified by the nunuer 
four is but too plainly seen in us; for, in the place 
of dependence and trial, in which we are, we too 
often are in contrast to the unfailing One. We 
have also the number five, which recalls our re- 
sponsibility to render full obedience ; but where 
is the other factor seen which speaks of victory 
in the place of responsibility ? — only where, and 
in the measure in which, we are held and con- 
trolled by Him. 

But our Lord, " slain in His victory " on the 
cross, has gained the victory for His beloved 
people. He has triumphed over sin and over 
Satan and his power. The " strong man" has 
been bound and deprived of his armor and 
spoiled of his goods. Sin has been robbed of its 
mastery, and, wonder of wonders, the hard re- 
bellious hearts of believing sinners have been 
won, conquered by love divine. What precious 
themes are these! What cause for exultation 
and worship as we ponder them ! 

The sixth curtain of the goats' hair insured 
the complete covering of the inner curtains of 
varied colors; half hung over the back of the 
tabernacle, and the other half was doubled or 
turned back in front (Ex. 26: 9, 12). It has been 
thought that thus it would be more prominent, 



112 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

and visible to all who approached the taber- 
nacle, and this view certainly seems beautifully 
in accord with the significance of the curtain. It 
acted thus, as we might say, as a sign or badge 
for the whole house of God. It served to desig- 
nate the blessed object for which God had estab- 
lished a dwelling-place with man. As every 
poor, weary, sin-laden Israelite would cast his 
eye toward the tabernacle he would see, not the 
gleam of the gold or the gorgeous hues within, 
but the goats' hair, reminding him that the One 
who knew his sins was ready to forgive them. 

And as we read through the Gospels, whether 
it be the miracles, the teaching, or the ways of 
our holy Lord, do we not see this sixth curtain, 
telling of victory over sin for sin-sick souls ? As 
we see Him cleansing lepers, healing the sick, 
raising the dead; or as we hear the words of 
grace and truth falling from lips which spake 
44 as never man spake," we see stamped upon it 
all the blessed legend, "This Man receiveth 
sinners" (Luke 15: 2); we hear Him saying, 
" Come unto Me all ye that labor and are heavy 
laden, and I will give you rest " (Matt. 1 1 : 28) ; and 
lest any might think their sins too great or too 
many to hope for pardon or favor from God, this 
badge of the Sin-bearer waves like a banner of 
victory over evil, beckoning them all to come 
and hear these blessed words, " Him that cometh 
to Me, I will in no wise cast out" (Jno. 6: 37). 



The covering of goats* hair 113 

Is not this attractive grace ? Can men shrink 
from One who, while reproving- sin, provides the 
remedy ? Can we shrink from the hand which 
was pierced for our sins ? Can we perish with 
thirst, when He calls, saying, "If any man 
thirst, let him come unto Me and drink ? M 

One last feature must be noted: the two sets 
of goats' hair curtains were fastened together by 
fifty taches of brass, as the inner curtains were 
by golden ones. When we come to see the sig- 
nificance of the brass, we will find it a symbol of 
the unyielding truth of God and of judgment. 
It was the metal which covered the altar of 
burnt-offering, which speaks of atonement by 
sin-bearing. So here again, we have the two 
great thoughts of sin and sin-bearing reiterated 
in these brazen clasps, and giving consistency to 
the whole covering — victory over evil in the 
place of responsibility. 

We may close our contemplation of this cover- 
ing of goats' hair with the words of John the 
Baptist — himself a man with the hairy garment 
— saying, as in effect he did, " I am but a re- 
prover of sin ; I only partly illustrate the gar- 
ment I wear; you must look away from me to 
see its full meaning in the One whose way I have 
come to prepare : ' Behold the Lamb of God 
which taketh away the sin of the world"' (Jno. 



LECTURE VI 

The Rams' Skins and Badgers' Skins Coverings 
(Ex. 36: 19) 

WE have the last two coverings of the taber- 
nacle very briefly described, in a single 
verse, whereas the details of the first covering, 
or tabernacle proper, occupied a considerable 
space ; and the tent or covering of goats' hair 
was also dwelt upon at some length. Remem- 
bering that each of these coverings speaks of our 
Lord Jesus, it is suggestive that the more deeply 
we learn of Him, the more of beauty and divine 
fulness we behold. Truly it is " the unsearch- 
able riches of Christ " that are set before us. 

In these coverings we have quite an absence 
of detail — not that they do not exhibit perfection 
in Him, but the attention is directed to but a few 
features in each. The skins of the animals would 
suggest an impervious covering, not to be pene- 
trated by sun or rain. No dimensions are given, 
nor divisions indicated. 

We will look first at the rams' skins dyed red. 
These words give us the three features to be 
dwelt upon: the animals were rams; their skins 
were used; and these were dyed red. We turn to 
God's word for instruction upon these features. 



Ram's and Badgers' skin coverings 115 

There is a passage in the 114th psalm which 
gives us a suggestion of the significance of the 
ram. When God led Israel out of Egypt, the 
victorious march is described as bringing all 
nature in subjection and sympathy with that won- 
drous deliverance: " The sea saw it and fled: 
Jordan was driven back. The mountains skipped 
like rams, and the little hills like lambs" (vers. 
3, 4). The word for "ram" means "the strong 
one," and the skipping and leaping of the mighty 
mountains shows the divine majesty of God, be- 
fo±e whom the strongest and mightiest must 
quail. 

When Abraham went to offer up Isaac as a 
burnt-offering and God stayed his hand, He pro- 
vided not a lamb for a burnt-offering, but a ram, 
"caught in a thicket by his horns." This is all- 
significant as we look for the meaning. The 
thicket may well suggest the condition of Israel 
according to the flesh when our Lord "came 
unto His own." God had brought a vine out of 
Egypt, cast out the nations, and planted it in the 
mountain of His inheritance. He looked that 
it should bring forth grapes, and it brought 
forth wild grapes (Ps. 80: 8-1 1; Isa. 5). The 
vineyard had become a thicket, filled with thorns 
and brambles, the curse of barrenness, and the 
mark of the "sons of Belial " (2 Sam. 23: 6, 7). 
The horns of the ram suggest the kingly author- 
ity of our Lord (Ps. 92: 10), which furnished, we 



116 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

may say — though the enmity was deeper — the 
occasion for the Jews having delivered Him up 
to death. The superscription upon the cross was 
"The King of the Jews" (Matt. 27 : 37). The 
ram was caught by his horns in the thicket. But 
how perfectly is the will of God shown in all this 
— His counsel was to be fulfilled, and the wicked- 
ness of the Jews was but the occasion (while it 
showed their enmity against God) for Him to 
show the Sacrifice He had provided. Christ in 
the full energy and vigor of a perfect manhood 
offered Himself as the true Sacrifice, which Isaac 
could never be. 

When we come to the Levitical ordinances, we 
find the ram occupying perhaps the most con- 
spicuous place. It was very frequently used for 
a burnt-offering (Lev. 8: 18; 9: 2; 16: 3, 5), also 
for a peace-offering (Lev. 9 : 18; Num. 6 : 14; 
7:88). It was almost the distinctive trespass- 
offering (Lev. 5 : 16 ; 6: 6; 19: 21). But per- 
haps its fullest significance is seen in the offer- 
ing for the consecration of the priests (Ex. 29: 
15-26). Here a bullock and two rams were 
taken ; the bullock was for a sin-offering, one of 
the rams for a burnt-offering, and the other was 
called "the ram of consecration. ,, The priests 
laid their hand upon this ram, as showing their 
identification with it ; then it was slain, and its 
blood sprinkled not only upon the altar, as show- 
ing God's acceptance of the sacrifice, but put 



Ram's and Badgers' skin coverings 117 

upon the ear, thumb, and great toe of the priest, 
as showing that he now was specifically and com- 
pletely set apart to God, who had an absolute 
claim upon the obedience, as shown by the ear; 
upon the service, as suggested by the hand; and 
upon the walk, of which the foot speaks. Thus 
the ram of consecration was the measure of full, 
complete devotedness unto God, measured not 
by the life merely, but unto death. 

The right shoulder was then taken, with the 
fat and the inwards and unleavened bread, and 
again identified with the offerers by being placed 
in their hands, waved before the Lord, then 
burnt upon the altar as a sweet savor unto God. 
Moses, acting as the priest, had the breast; and 
upon the remainder of the sacrifice the priests 
fed, abiding in the tabernacle area oeven days, 
the full period of their consecration. 

How perfectly all this speaks of Christ in His 
devotedness to God is seen as we examine the 
details, both in contrast and resemblance. The 
contrast is seen in the fact that the priests needed 
something outside themselves to express their 
consecration, while Christ was absolutely devoted 
to God, with never a desire apart from or con- 
trary to Him. Man's sin made it necessary that 
Christ should die for atonement, but it furnished 
fresh occasion to display the perfection of that 
obedience which was unto death. In this supreme 
test all the fulness of His consecration was dis- 



118 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

played, and in divine grace is accepted for His 
people. 

Coming to details for a moment, let us see the 
inward springs of devotedness laid bare. His 
obedience, His work, His walk were all unto 
death, as suggested in the blood-touched ear, 
hand and foot. Never an act that was not the 
expression of this throughout His entire life. 
The shadow of the cross was upon Him from the 
manger to Gethsemane, but it was a shadow in 
which His perfect and holy soul found the light 
of His Father's will. When He came into the 
world He said, •/ Lo, I come to do Thy will, O God " 
(Heb. 10: 5-7). He could say as to His death, 
"This commandment have I received of My 
Father" (J no. 10: 18); and in the anguish of 
Gethsemane it was still, " Not My will but Thine 
be done " (Luke 22: 42). 

Thus when the hour came for which He had 
come into the world (Jno. 12: 27) and He yielded 
Himself up to death, all the hidden springs of 
His life were laid bare, and all was seen to be 
for God. The shoulder, which speaks of strength; 
the fat within and without, which speaks of the 
energy of the will — in man, that which fills him 
with pride and rebellion; and the vitals, His 
thoughts, motives and desires: all that He was, 
went up in death in the sweet savor to God that 
perfect holiness could desire. And the won- 
der is that it was sin in man that made such a 



Rams' and Badgers* skins coverings 119 

display necessary if infinite lov6 was to express 
itself. 

This then is the thought suggested by the ram 
— Christ in the full vigor of a perfect life, living 
only for God, and yielding Himself up to Him 
absolutely in a devotion that was only measured 
by His death on the cross. 

We have really anticipated the significance of 
the skin, which we shall now consider. It is 
very striking that the first intimation of salvation 
by substitution is seen in the clothing of our first 
parents with garments of skin. The very first 
promise is that the woman's Seed would bruise 
the serpent's head. In that we see Christ's 
victory over Satan, through death destroying 
him that had the power of death. But in the 
clothing with skins we have the application of 
the benefits of that death to His people. 

How striking it all is ! The ignorance of inno- 
cence had gone forever. Man had awakened to 
the awful fact that he was naked. Disobedience 
to God had destroyed the beauty of the first crea- 
tion; the shame of a fallen life replaced it — a 
corrupted life now, with death attaching to it. 
So he must hide, even from his most intimate 
companion; and how much more when the still 
small voice of infinite holiness is heard. For 
themselves the aprons of fig leaves — garments of 
their own making — may suffice, but such could not 
avail before the all-searching eye of divine Truth. 



120 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

Leaves speak of profession without fruit, and 
temporary at the best. "All our righteousnesses 
are as filthy rags, and we all do fade as a 
leaf" (Isa. 64: 6). Man may gather the best and 
brightest leaves of human worthiness and right- 
eousness ; he may stitch them together with 
cunning workmanship — religious, social, moral, 
intellectual — but it all leaves him naked when 
the living God draws near. No covering that 
man has devised can give a moment's boldness in 
the presence of a holy God. His shame appears 
in that heart-searching Presence. 

But thanks be to Him who is Love, He has 
provided a covering which suits Himself, and 
which effectually covers the believing sinner, 
bringing peace and rest to his conscience in view 
of the judgment of God. God makes coats of 
skin and clothes them. Life must be given up 
to provide these skins; so from Eden we may 
hear the gospel preached: " Bring forth the best 
robe and put it on him " (Luke 15 : 22). The best, 
the most costly robe is through the Lord Jesus 
Christ giving up His life. So believers are " in 
Christ, " covered by Christ, of whom they can 
say, "The Lord our righteousness" (Jer. 23: 6; 
1 Cor. 1: 30). 

We find in Leviticus that the skin of the sacri- 
fice was to be the priest's. There was a special 
exception to this in the case of the sin-offering 
on the day of atonement (Lev. 16: 27), where the 



Rams* and Badgers' skins coverings 121 

skin along with the flesh of the entire animal 
was to be burned outside the camp. This was to 
emphasize the depth of the judgment which must 
be visited upon sin, but the effect of it was that 
the blood was carried into the holiest and sprink- 
led upon the mercy-seat, giving the believer 
" boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood 
of Jesus " (Heb. 10: 19). Thus the same truth is 
illustrated from a different side. 

In the directions as to the burnt-offering, the 
animal was to be flayed (the skin removed) ; then 
it was divided into its parts (Lev. 1 : 6) and burnt 
upon the altar. The skin was to belong to the 
priest who presented the offering (Lev. 7:8). So 
Christ in offering up Himself upon the cross 
secured a covering for His beloved people. This 
is suggested — may we not say ? — in the seamless 
robe of our Lord, for which the lot was cast by 
divine appointment. It is one perfect, consistent 
whole — not to be rent. The one to whom God 
allots it must have it whole or none (Jno. 19: 23, 
24). In sovereign grace, this robe of a perfect 
righteousness is provided for every one that will 
receive it This robe is Christ Himself. In the 
wisdom of God He is made unto us " righteous- 
ness " (1 Cor. 1 : 30) — the righteousness which is 
of God by faith (Phil. 3:9). 

Here we must guard against a thought which 
has obtained with many, that Christ's active obe- 
dience in His life is imputed to the believer. 



122 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

According to this teaching, man, who owed per- 
fect obedience to the law, could not enter heaven 
without having fulfilled the word, " do and live." 
Having failed utterly to do this, the law-keeping 
of Christ is imputed to him, so that God accepts 
Christ's obedience in place of the sinner's. Now 
when we see that it is the skin of the animal which 
is given for a covering, the thought of mere obe- 
dience in life being imputed is set aside. The 
life had to be given up, death had to come in, 
and thus the perfect robe of righteousness was 
secured, even Christ Himself, which includes His 
perfect obedience in life, His death, and what 
He now is, as the measure of the believer's ac- 
ceptance and standing before God. 

We suggest one more thought connected with 
the skin. In the burnt-offering, all was divided 
into the appropriate parts — legs, shoulder, head, 
inwards. What had been covered from ,yiew was 
laid bare by the removal of the skin. Man could 
see but the outside of Christ's life, but in His 
death the hidden springs and motives were all 
laid bare, even to the eye of man in some meas- 
ure, but how perfectly to God, to whom all was 
offered as a sweet savor. 

Thus, as we have already seen in another con- 
nection, the shoulder of strength, the breast of 
love, the inward motives or thoughts of His 
heart, were seen to be absolutely devoted to 
God. He breathed out His entire being, in death, 



Rams* and Badgers' skins coverings 123 

to God — all was offered upon the altar. Every 
detail was perfect in itself: the skin could be 
removed. 

There is scarcely need to dwell now upon the 
significance of the red color of the rams' skins, 
for already we have had it emphasized again and 
again that the Lord's devotedness unto death is 
the thought here, which is made conspicuous in 
the blood-red color. The ordinance of the red 
heifer in the 19th chapter of Numbers suggests 
the same thing. 

Our Lord's entire life was indeed a foreshadow- 
ing of His death. Around the manger were the 
shadows of the cross; for as the manger con- 
tained food for the beasts, a food of plants cut 
down, sacrificed to become life for others, so our 
Lord was " cut off out of the land of the living M 
(Isa. 53: 8), that He might be the food for His 
people. Ever and anon did the shadows of the 
cross fall across His path; as doubtless it was 
ever in His mind. 

In the 63d chapter of Isaiah our Lord comes 
from the judgment of His enemies "with dyed 
garments from Bozrah " (ver. 1). The same 
thought is suggested in the red horse of the sec- 
ond seal, death and carnage (Rev. 6: 4). Thus 
the red in the covering before us seems clearly 
to speak of our Lord's death. 

We have thus in three convergent lines found 
the significance of this third covering of rams' 



124 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

skins dyed red. In it we see Christ in all the 
energy of a perfect life yielding it tip in death, 
in absolute devotedness to God, and this marked 
His entire course down here. 

Let us recall a few familiar scriptures which 
illustrate this truth. " When the time was come 
that He should be received up, He steadfastly 
set His face to go to Jerusalem " (Luke 9 : 
51). He was to be received up to glory; He 
was going to His Father; but how was He 
going? He seemed to be nearest heaven on the 
Mount of Transfiguration, so far as outward glory 
was concerned, yet upon that very Mount we 
know the conversation was not the glory to which 
He had drawn so near, but "the decease which 
He should accomplish at Jerusalem " (Luke 9 : 
31). He would go back to the glory by way of 
the cross. We may explain the familiar passage 
in John 14 in the light of that truth, "I go 
to prepare a place for yor>." Had He gone at 
that very instant, we may reverently say He 
would not have prepared the place for us. Oh, 
how much was involved in those two brief words, 
" I go." They meant Gethsemane and Calvary — 
the judgment of God first, and then the glor)'. 
Thus the place was prepared. He who was cut 
off from the presence of God for our sins has 
won the title to enter eternal glory and claim 
it for every sinner who trusts in Him. 

But this place in glory was won in perfect obe- 



Rams' and Badgers* skins coverings 125 

dience to His Father's will. At Gethsemane, 
when they came to take Him, instead of using 
His divine power to smite His enemies, He 
quietly yielded Himself into their hands, saying, 
" The cup which My Father hath given Me, shall 
I not drink it ?" (Jno. 18: n). So the death on 
the cross which manifested the desert of our sin 
and disobedience in its fullest measure, was the 
crowning act of a life of perfect obedience. 
This is dwelt upon in the Epistles: "As by one 
man's disobedience many were made sinners, so 
by the obedience of One shall many be made 
righteous " (Rom. 5 : 19). This was not our Lord's 
law- keeping during life, as has been thought by 
many, but His obedience "unto death, even the 
death of the cross " (Phil. 2: 8). 

In Hebrews 10 we have the familiar quotation 
from the 40th psalm. The psalmist, speaking 
prophetically of and for our Lord Jesus, says: 
" Sacrifice and offering Thou wouldest not, but a 
body hast Thou prepared Me. In burnt offerings 
and sacrifices for sin Thou hast had no pleasure. 
Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the 
book it is written of Me) to do Thy will, O God 
. . . He taketh away the first (the offerings under 
the law) that He may establish the second " (His 
own work, in which He did the will of God) — "By 
the which will we are sanctified through the 
offering of the body of Jesus Christ once" (Heb. 
10: 5-10). Here, then, is the devotedness of 



126 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

which we have been speaking — the antitype of 
all the sacrifices. In His death, who came to do 
His Father's will, we see what God had in mind 
in this covering of rams' skins dyed red. 

But as we have been seeing, this devotedness 
characterized His entire life. He goes into the 
temple, which is for HinuHis Father's house, but 
He finds it polluted by men who, under the plea 
of caring for God's things, are really seeking 
their own. Our Lord with a scourge of small 
cords drives them out, and casts out all their 
traffic. "Make not My Father's house a house 
of merchandise," He says, and His disciples re- 
member the words of the 69th psalm (ver. 9) — 
one of the sacrificial psalms — "The zeal of Thy 
house hath eaten Me up." This very zeal and 
devotedness to His Father's glory was a pledge 
of His death. So when asked by the Pharisees 
by what authority He did these things, His reply 
shows that He knew full well where such zeal 
was leading Him: " Destroy this temple^'— take 
My life — "and in three days I will raise it up" 
(Jno. 2: 13-22). 

How good it is to dwell upon such devoted- 
ness! — let us also put it alongside of that'which 
we may well be ashamed to call by the same 
name. "I have a baptism to be baptized with, 
and how am I straitened till it be accomplished " 
(Luke 12: 50) — His footsteps quickening as He 
drew nearer to that hour when His last breath 



Rams*. -and- Badgers* skin coverings 127 

was unto His Father. : Must we not believe, can 
we doubt rfor a moment, that the Father's eye 
was upon the dye of the rams' skins throughout 
dur Lord's entire life ?— that His eye marked it 
in every act and word, in all His prayers and 
miracles, in His thoughts and inmost desires, in 
the energy of One whose only object was to do 
the Father's will, and whose whole perfect life 
went out in ardent desire to lay itself upon the 
altar — a complete gift in love to the Father who 
had sent Him upon such a service ? 

We go back again to that word, " By the which 
will we are sanctified." Blessed be God, all out- 
poor obedience is covered up, swallowed up in 
this obedience, in the value of which we are set 
apart to God, and made as perfectly the objects 
of His delight as the One who did it for us and 
for God! And so, while ashamed of ourselves, 
we are not ashamed of Him. This covering is for 
us the "best robe," as it was for Him the mark 
of that which only the Father's heart can appre- 
ciate in all its fulness. 

We come now to the covering of the badgers' 
skins, or seal skins, and here the details are still 
more meagre, though doubtless the significance 
is to be clearly found if we use the divinely-given 
key. There is some question whether the word 
is to be rendered " sealskin," but students agree 
that it is the skin of some animal that lived in 



128 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

the water. Seals, we are told, abounded on the 
shores of the Red Sea, so there is no geographi- 
cal difficulty in the way. 

Apart from this covering of the tabernacle, and 
the coverings upon the various tabernacle furni- 
ture when journeying (Num. 4), we have but 
one mention of sealskin, as we will call it. It is 
in Ezekiel 16, where God is recounting to Israel 
His grace and provision for her, His bride. He 
had found her lying in her blood and had given 
her life ; and He had clothed her with a beauty 
not her own — broidered work and jewels and a 
beautiful crown upon her head. In connection 
with all this adornment, He had shod her with 
badgers' skin (chap. 16: 10). Alas, Israel abused 
all this love, and put to shameful uses the beauty 
which had been put upon her. But the signifi- 
cance seems plain: shoes of sealskin were an 
appropriate and effectual covering for the feet of 
a bride, typical of ample provision for Israel for 
all her journeyings here. We remember that the 
prodigal also was clothed not only with the best 
robe, but had a ring, pledge of eternal love, and 
" shoes on his feet," full provision for the walk. 

Recurring now to the seal, it is an amphibious 
animal, properly belonging to the land, yet liv- 
ing in the water. Its skin is impervious to the 
element in which it lives; its covering thus main- 
tains it in the midst of unnatural surroundings. 

When we think of our Lord coming down into 



Rams' and Badgers' skin coverings 129 

this world from the light and joy and blessedness 
of His heavenly home, what a foreign element 
it must have been for Him to live in! But, by 
virtue of His absolutely holy nature, our blessed 
Lord kept everything of Satan's world out of His 
heart. Nothing in it appealed to Him. The 
prince of this world could spread before Him all 
the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them, 
his seductions were absolutely echoless in that 
shrine of God, His holy heart. 

This then is the first thought we gather from 
sealskin — perfect protection in a hostile element. 
And here too it is well to remember that the life 
must be given up to furnish the skins ; so this 
separation was unto death. " Ye have not yet 
resisted unto blood, striving against sin " (Heb. 
12: 4), but He did. 

The next thought as to the sealskin is closely 
connected with what we have just been seeing, 
and grows out of the use of sealskin in the pass- 
age we have referred to in Ezekiel. Shoes are to 
protect the feet from injury and defilement. The 
feet are our point of contact with the earth, and 
how important it is that they should be protected 
alike from its thorns and its soil. The shoes were 
removed in the presence of God, for the ground 
was holy. Earth must not defile in that holy 
Presence, and it was in that Presence our Lord 
lived every moment: this was the preparation 
with which He was shod. 



130 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

Look at Him as He walked. How were His 
feet shod? "Beautiful" indeed they were, as 
bringing good tidings and publishing peace (Isa. 
52: 7), for His was the ministry of reconciliation, 
jiot imputing men's trespasses unto them. His 
feet bore Him on many an errand of love and 
mercy — to Sychar's well and to the coasts of 
Tyre and Sidon; to Caesarea - Philippi, and to 
Jerusalem — everywhere He went, "about all 
Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preach- 
ing the gospel of the kingdom" (Matt. 4: 23). 

No sacrifice with the slightest blemish or bruise 
could be offered to God. A bullock might be 
incapacitated from being a sacrifice by striking 
its foot against a stone and being bruised. Sup- 
pose, if it had been possible, that our Lord had 
been tempted to murmur at the trials and priva- 
tions of the way, for He had not where to lay 
His head, or that He had lost control of Himself 
as He walked in and out amongst the stony- 
hearted men by whom He was surrounded; such 
dashing of His foot against a stone would have 
produced a bruise, would have been an imperfec- 
tion, would have been a blemished offering, 
unsuited for God. Rightly do we say, "if it 
were possible," for that could not be. The very 
occasions when the stones lay thickest about 
Him, when all would be calculated to stir the 
spirit to absolute fury by the hardness of heart, 
envy, unbelief of those who sought to "entangle 



Rams* and Badgers' skins coverings 131 

Him in His talk," only served to exhibit the per- 
fect equipoise of His soul. (See Lk. n: 53, 54.) 

" Unmoved by Satan's subtle wiles, 
Or suffering, shame and loss, 
Thy path uncheered by earthly smiles, 
Led only to the cross." 

Grief there was at the sin and hardness of 
heart, holy indignation too, and scathing rebuke, 
but never one single word that could defile ; never 
a moment to marr His unclouded communion 
with the Father. Let us * 'consider Him who en- 
dured such contradiction of sinners against Him- 
self," and compare this undefiled walk with that 
of the best of His own in this world: can we con- 
ceive of one going through it without gathering 
a particle of defilement ? How we gather the 
dust of the world upon our feet as we go about 
our necessary business, in meeting the responsi- 
bilities and duties of life. We do not excuse 
ourselves for it; we know it is because of our 
feebleness of faith and lack of spiritual energy; 
but all was perfect with our holy Lord. Was 
there a particle of dust upon His holy feet at the 
end of the journey ? He never deviated one 
hair's-breadth from the path of perfect obe- 
dience to God; and when those feet of His who 
' ' went about doing good, and healing all that 
were oppressed of the devil, for God was with 
Him," were nailed to the cross, there was no 
stain upon the m\ 



132 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

But we gather another thought from the seal- 
skin covering. It was probably of a brown or 
dark hue, not repulsive in appearance, but not 
particularly attractive. For faith, the charac- 
teristics which we have been dwelling upon in 
our Lord are blessedly attractive, but to the 
natural man, there was "no beauty that we 
should desire Him" (Isa. 53: 2). As they looked 
upon Him walking in lowly separation from the 
world and its spirit, they said, "Out of Galilee 
ariseth no prophet" (Jno. 7: 52). Even His won- 
drous teachings and miracles failed to overcome 
the pride of unbelief in many: "Is not this the 
carpenter ? " was the incredulous and scornful 
question asked. Nor did it stop there : that which 
put Him at a moral distance from all hypocrisy 
and religiousness of the natural man was no bar- 
rier to conscious need, which ever found a ten- 
der welcome in Him. The outcast, the wretched 
and the lost came freely to Him; but unbelief 
still stumbles and says, "A Friend of publicans 
and sinners" (Luke 7: 34). 

And yet who that needs the word of God can 
fail to see that it was a humbled Lord who was to 
be expected ? He "made Himself of no reputa- 
tion, and took upon Him the form of a servant, 
. . . and being found in fashion as a man He 
humbled Himself " (Phil. 2 : 7, 8). This faith sees 
in the covering of sealskin, the lowly garb of One 
who came to serve. Think of the Lord of glory. 



Rams' and Badgers' skins coverings 133 

the Creator and the Upholder of all things, com- 
ing into the world in such lowly form as this! 
And think of all this condescension awakening 
in the heart of man only scorn and mockery! 

Be it so if, alas, it must be. To behold no 
beauty in the Lord Jesus is to prove one truly 
blind to what is of true worth: not to have the 
heart stirred by a love which " passe th knowl- 
edge " is to prove it cold and dead. But faith 
beholds beauties where the world sees uncomeli- 
ness; and faith follows with adoring heart the 
footsteps of Him who was separate from sinners, 
and remembers with joy that beneath this ap- 
parently sombre exterior are hidden the glories 
we have dwelt upon in the other coverings. 
When the world turns away, faith cries aloud, 
" He is altogether lovely " (Song 5: 9-16). "This 
is my Beloved and this is my Friend." If asked: 
"What is thy Beloved more than another be- 
loved?" faith gladly, like the bride in the Song 
of Solomon, answers by describing Him from the 
head to the feet. Every feature has its own 
beauty and attractiveness; every step, word and 
act of our Lord has a beauty all its own. And 
after we have exhausted all our little knowledge 
of Him, we can truly say, "the half has not been 
told." 

This gives significance to the fact that these 
last two coverings have no dimensions given. 
They covered, doubtless, all the tabernacle. So 



134 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

in the burnt-offering, there was no limit to the 
number offered. One kid of the goats would 
suffice for a sin-offering, but the burnt-offerings 
were multiplied by thousands in the time of the 
kings, until the whole temple court was turned 
into an altar (i Kings 8 : 64) — worship has no 
limit. 

In these coverings without measure we have 
the infinite fulness of Christ suggested. Let the 
thoughts go, under the guidance of Scripture, as 
far as the finite capacity permits, and still there 
is more beyond — the fulness of Christ, which is 
only measured by the fullness of God ; and, 
blessed thought, each believer can say: " He is 
mine and I am His." 




^S^S^^^^- ;: ^S 



JEttgft 




LECTURE VII 

The boards — the acacia and the gold 
(Ex. 36 : 20-34) 

WE pass on now to the framework of the 
tabernacle, the boards of acacia wood 
overlaid with gold, standing on a foundation of 
silver. These boards were of one measure — ten 
cubits in length and one and a-half cubits in 
breadth; they had two tenons, which fitted into 
the silver sockets — twenty boards to each side 
of the tabernacle, whose length was thirty cubits. 
In the back, or west end, there were six boards 
of the same width, making nine cubits, and the 
remaining cubit (to complete the probable ten 
cubits of width) was made up by two boards, one 
at each corner. There is some question as to the 
manner in which these two corner boards were 
placed. We must leave such questions for further 
prayerful consideration: nothing in Scripture is 
unimportant, and the architecture of the taber- 
nacle has lessons to yield. We may be able to 
glean some of these as we go on. 

We have said that the probable width of the 
tabernacle was ten cubits. This can be gathered 
from the fact that five and its multiples are com- 



136 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

mon throughout, as in the court which was one 
hundred cubits long by fifty broad; the length 
of the boards would suggest the same. In Solo- 
mon's temple the most holy place was twenty 
cubits long and the same in breadth. The heav- 
enly city, God's dwelling-place, of which these 
were types, is also a cube. But this must suffice 
as to the form of the sanctuary; at its spiritual 
meaning we may look later. 

The boards of acacia wood, overlaid with gold, 
were placed side by side; each having golden 
rings through which five bars of acacia wood 
overlaid with gold were passed, holding the 
boards firmly together; the middle bar extend- 
ing from end to end of the boards. This suggests 
that the other four may have been of half that 
length; two of them end to end uniting the 
boards above and the other two below the cen- 
tral bar which extended the entire length. If 
this were the case, we should have three golden 
rings on each board for the bars to pass through; 
and this well accords, when we come to look at 
the scriptural significance. 

Though but a tabernacle, a tent, we can see 
the structure had much firmness. Two heavy 
sockets of silver under each board afforded a solid 
foundation, and the five bars running through 
rings would hold all firmly together. 

We shall look now at the spiritual significance 
of each of the materials used, gathering what we 



The boards — the acacia wood 137 

can from the various scripture passages where 
each is mentioned. 

The boards* were of shittim or acacia wood. 
Apart from the tabernacle there is but one pas- 
sage which refers directly to this wood, but it 
gives us a suggestion as to the spiritual meaning. 
"I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the 
shittim tree, and the myrtle, and the oil tree . . . 
that they may see, and know, and consider, and 
understand together, that the hand of the Lord 
hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath 
created it" (Isa. 41: 19, 20). In the future day 
of Israel's blessing God will make the wilder- 
ness and solitary place to rejoice. The nation was 

*The word for board, keresh, is from a root meaning to " cut, " 
or "cut in pieces," which would suggest their having been cut 
out from the shittim tree. The word is only used in describing 
the boards of the tabernacle (with one exception (Ezek. 27: 6\ 
where it is translated "benches,") made of cut wood. The 
other principal word for "board" is "table" or "tablet," so 
called from its smoothness, and used in describing the brazen 
altar. The word here used would suggest a manufactured 
board, either cut out of the tree entire, or possibly pieced to- 
gether. This might help in the understanding of the corner 
boards. 

The thought of preparation is suggestive, as applied to our 
Lord's humanity: "A body hast Thou prepared Me " (Heb. 10: 
5) — specially and perfectly adapted for Him. 

But, as we shall see, the boards primarily refer to the re- 
deemed people of God, who are fitted and formed by His grace 
to be His abode. So the cutting and preparing of the boards 
would answer to the hewing of the stones for the temple, and 
both refer to the "living stones" of the true temple of God 
(1 Pet. 2:5). 



138 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

a moral waste in which nothing grew for God, 
and this continues until the full time for blessing 
comes, when God's grace will make glad even 
the desert. Then the high and fragrant cedar, 
and the beautiful acacia and the evergreen myr- 
tle, and the fruitful olive will flourish, and the 
desert shall blossom as the rose. The tree is the 
reminder of the vigor of life in the midst of that 
which at present is dead and barren. 

But there is peculiar appropriateness in the 
choice of the shittim wood for the tabernacle 
boards, rather than the cedar or olive. These 
latter two were used in the construction of Solo- 
mon's temple (i Kings 6 : 15, 31-33), which pre- 
figured millennial glory and the habitation of 
God among the restored nation, the very time 
referred to in the passage we have quoted. Per- 
haps the myrtle, used in connection with the 
Feast of Tabernacles (Neh. 8 : 15), may have 
been significant for its fragrance and foliage. 
The acacia, or shittim, however, was the only 
tree which grew in the desert — the only one 
practically available for the purpose intended — 
a habitation in the desert, made of the wood of 
the desert. 

But there is special beauty in this when we 
look at the spiritual significance and remember 
that Christ is the key to all. Israel was, as we 
have said, a moral waste, and never more so 
than when, after their return from the captivity 



The boards — the acacia wood 139 

in Babylon, our Lord came to them. True, idol- 
atry had outwardly ceased, and tombs of proph- 
ets were built to honor those slain in the evil 
days for their faithful testimony for God and 
against sin. But this could not deceive the eyes 
of the Holy One who searches the heart. Much 
outward religion there was, a diligent round of 
fasting, of tithing, and of holy days ; but in all 
this there was nothing for God, no fruit of divine 
life. Not without cause were the Pharisees, the 
religious and orthodox leaders, called "whited 
sepulchres" (Matt. 23 : 27), and "graves which 
appear not " (Luke 11 : 44) — abodes of death, like 
the body when the spirit has departed. True, a 
little remnant was there, the seed by grace of 
the new nation, but these were marked by their 
confessions of sin and barrenness. 

And so when our Lord came, He was to the na- 
tion u asa root out of a dry ground.'* They saw 
nothing in Him to desire. Bnt how different to 
the eye of God! Here was a "tender plant" 
growing in the midst of abounding dearth and 
desolation ; life and vigor manifesting them- 
selves in Him in the scene of death. 

So when God bears witness to man's true con- 
dition he is described, not merely as one who 
has committed sins and is liable to punishment, 
which is perfectly true ; nor as one who needs 
assistance to do that which is right ; but he is 
declared to be dead — dead toward God. And this 



140 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

is a responsible condition, for his will is against 
God and opposed to grace. The Pelagians taught 
that man only needed guidance to live for God; 
the semi-Pelagians admitted that he was sick, 
and needed help if he was to please God; while 
those who knew the truth contended that, man's 
condition was dead toward God, needing the life^ 
giving grace of God in Christ. $3. 

This then was, and is, the world in which the 
wondrous Plant grew up " before Him : " planted 
in the wilderness, for "the Word became fl'esfi^i 
(Jno. i: 14), and as "the children are partakers 
of flesh and blood, He also Himself took part of 
the same" (Heb. 2: 14). But this root had life 
in itself, and from His birth the eye of God saw 
nothing but perfection in Him. As the tender 
plant grew " in wisdom and stature, and in favor 
with God and man" (Luke 2: 52), it bore all that 
was appropriate to the stage of its life. Had there 
been nothing resulting for man from this Life y 
it was a perfect refreshment and glory for God. 

There are certain characteristics about the 
acacia tree which made it particularly suitable 
as a type of our Lord upon earth. It is the tree 
of the desert, as we have seen; and there are 
many varieties, which might suggest the varied 
characteristics of our blessed Lord. One yields 
a gum which has a healing effect; from an- 
other is obtained a tonic medicine; the leaves 
of another are peculiarly sensitive to outward 



The boards — the acacia wood 141 

influences; and the wood, by its durability, par- 
ticularly points to the incorruptibility of His 
humanity. Upon this last we must dwell in some 
detail, for it is the prominent material, not only 
in the framework of the tabernacle, but in all its 
furniture, except the laver and the candlestick. 

We have already dwelt upon the passage in 
Hebrews 10: 5, but will recur to it because of one 
clause : ' 'Sacrifice and offering Thou wouldest not, 
but a body hast Thou prepared Me." The quota- 
tion is from the 40th psalm, where, instead of 
^Aibody hast Thou prepared Me," we have, 
"Mine ears hast Thou opened," or "digged." 
This illustrates the freedom with which the 
Spirit of God enlarges upon the thought origin- 
ally given under His inspiration. In the psalm, 
as appropriate to its prophetic character, we 
have the opening or forming of the ears, sug- 
gesting the obedience of our Lord, as the ear is 
to receive the instruction to be obeyed. But in 
the New Testament passage, where His holy 
person has been fully revealed, the Spirit teaches 
us that His Wj/was a specially prepared one for 
this obedience. 

We are on holy ground here, but we need not 
refuse to draw nigh, if it be in reverence and 
godly fear. The person of the Son of God is a 
mystery which only God can fully comprehend, 
but we remember that He came to reveal, not to 
conceal, God; that the beloved apostle rested un- 



142 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

reproved upon His bosom, and the sinful woman 
could kiss His feet. He invited His disciples to 
" handle Me and see." May we with Thomas do 
so; as with him we also say, " My Lord and my 
God " (Jno. 20: 27, 28). 

There are dangers on every hand here: we 
may deny His true humanity, or unduly empha- 
size that and lose the thought of His perfect and 
absolute deity. We are distinctly told that He 
was, and is, Man: " There is one Mediator be- 
tween God and men, the Man Christ Jesus " 
(1 Tim. 2: 5). He is the ideal, the only perfect 
Man that ever walked the earth — infinitely more 
so than the first man. But He was the perfect 
Man because He was also infinitely more. The 
Creator has come down into His creation and 
taken His place as its Head (Col. 1: 15). The 
Son of God became also the Son of Man. It was 
upon earth that the body was prepared Him. He 
was "made of a woman" (Gal. 4: 4), in fulfil- 
ment of the first word of gospel spoken by God, 
in the bruising of the serpent's head by the Seed 
of the woman. Some, in the true spirit of wor- 
ship, have shrunk from speaking of our Lord as 
absolutely human; but the word of God must al- 
ways direct intelligent worship. This assures us 
that He is in the fullest sense a Man, who was 
born and lived His life here. 

"Forasmuch as the children are partakers of 
flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took 



The boards — the acacia wood 143 

part of the same " (Heb. 2: 14). Here we have 
One who participated in humanity. The word 
which speaks of this participation is, however, 
different from that applied to "the children." 
Theirs is a complete identification with all that 
humanity is, now alas, as fallen. Therefore they 
were subject to death at the hand of him that 
had the power of death, and as a consequence, 
were all their lifetime subject to bondage 
through fear of death. He, on the contrary, in 
coming into the world voluntarily took a sinless, 
perfect human nature — a body, soul and spirit. 
The difference is expressed in the two words — 
identification and participation — so carefully does 
the Spirit guard against connecting our holy 
Lord's humanity with the slightest taint of the 
fall. As a result, His death is absolutely volun- 
tary and divinely efficacious — "That through 
death He might destroy (or annul) him that had 
the power of death," and deliver His beloved 
ones. This deliverance is not merely from Sa- 
tan's power and death, but it brings into the pres- 
ence of the living God, for as a merciful and 
faithful High Priest, our Lord made propitiation 
for the sins of the people (Heb. 2: 17). Thus the 
Person and the work are divinely perfect; yet 
we are assured of the tender heart of sympathy 
and succor of a Man who suffered being tempted, 
but in whose holy heart there was no response 
to those temptations. 



144 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

Thus, in the narrative of His incarnation, we 
are assured both of His absolute humanity an 3 
yet of the unique and sinless perfection of itv 
"When the fulness of the time was come, God 
sent forth His Son, made of a woman " (Gal. 4: 
4). By the overshadowing power of the Highest 
the "Seed of the woman" has come, a reminder 
of her who "being deceived was in the transgres- 
sion" (1 Tim. 2: 14). " Therefore that Holy Thing 
that shall be born of thee shall be called the Son 
of God " (Luke 1: 35). 

There is absolutely no taint in that "Son of 
Man.'' It is not said " that innocent thing," but 
' ' that Holy Thing. " The first man before the 
fall was innocent, guiltless, but the condition was 
a negative and unstable one. He was of the 
earth, earthy — made of dust; with a spirit, but a 
creature, and nothing more. The Second Man is 
out of heaven (1 Cor. 15: 47). He was "holy," 
and had a positive, inherent, abiding character^ 
utterly incapable of sin. He was a partaker of 
the divine nature as incarnate, with nothing of 
"the flesh " in any part of His person. His pos- 
itive holiness was because of the direct, divine 
work of the Spirit in His incarnation — absolutely 
apart from fallen nature. We would veil our 
faces as we speak or think of this divine mystery, 
and adore the grace of Him who thus humbled 
Himself to be found in fashion as a man. 

In the world He was, then, but absolutely free 



The boards — the acacia wood 145 

from the taint of sin. A type of this we have in 
the red heifer, in Numbers 19, which had never 
borne yoke; from which we gather that nothing 
applied to Him that was the result or due of sin. 
Ever dwelling in perfect communion with God, 
there could be no sense of distance, of divine 
displeasure, or aught that spoke of the conse- 
quences of sin. Into the poverty, trials, sorrows, 
and all that in which man was found, He could 
enter ; but, though surrounded by darkness, 
He was ever light and in the light. The very 
nature of God therefore — His goodness and right- 
eousness — must give witness to His constant ap- 
proval of and delight in this righteous One. The 
only reason why God has withdrawn the light of 
His countenance from man is because of sin — 
divine righteousness could not go on with that, 
and wicked man had no desire for Him. " Men 
loved darkness rather than light because their 
deeds were evil" (Jno. 3 : 19). But here was 
One whose whole being desired and delighted in 
God alone, and therefore the Voice from the ex- 
cellent glory but expressed the constant attitude 
of the righteous and holy God toward Him : 
"This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well 
pleased" (Matt. 31.17). This fact sets aside the 
thought of His being a substitute during His 
life : that was only upon the cross ; there He was 
forsaken of God, when He was "made sin for 
us" (2 Cor. 5:21). 



146 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

It also follows that death had not the slightest 
claim upon Him. "The wages of sin is death." 
"By one man sin entered into the world, and 
death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, 
for that all have sinned" (Rom. 6: 23; 5 : 12). 
Death is the precursor of judgment for man; the 
two cannot be separated. "As it is appointed 
unto men once to die, but after this the judg- 
ment" (Heb. 9: 27). How impossible then that 
our holy Lord should be subject to death. 

It has been taught that our Lord's humanity 
was of such a character that He was subject to 
the ills of life — to sickness or the decrepitude 
of age ; that had He lived the appointed three- 
score years and ten, He would have been cut off 
like the rest of humanity. Let our inmost spirits 
revolt from such thoughts, though compelled to 
examine them. As we have just seen, death in 
Scripture is the universal witness of sin. Go 
into the dwellings of the poor or the palaces of 
the great, and we find the dark sign of death. 
It has reigned everywhere. It is the sentence 
of God upon man: " In the day that thou eatest 
thereof, thou shalt surely die" (Gen. 2 : 17). 
Shall we take that which is a witness of corrupt, 
fallen nature, a witness that man has forfeited 
the right which he had as a creature to live in 
God's world, and attach it to our Lord ? — to Him 
" who knew no sin ? " Did death pass upon Him 
tfien — we speak as fools — in that He had sinned ? 



The boards — the acacia wood 147 

It has been said, " Had He drank poison it would 
have killed Him." In the first place, He would 
not have done this, for His every act was in obe- 
dience to His Father; He would not cast Himself 
down from the pinnacle of the temple. But, for 
the moment granting the act, shall we say that 
what He promised to His servants would not 
have been true of Him: "If they drink any 
deadly thing it shall not hurt them" (Mark 16 : 
18)? 

The truth is that all such thoughts are unholy, 
unprofitable speculations. Scripture does not 
suggest them nor afford the shadow of support to 
them. We look upon the One "made flesh," as 
One on whom no sentence of death rests; no 
subjection to sickness. If the men before the 
flood lived well-nigh a thousand years, shall we 
contract the age of the Unf alien to the "labor 
and sorrow " of those whose years are as a " tale 
that is told," because all their days are passed 
away in His wrath? (Ps. 90: 9, 10). Can we 
think of His manhood reaching its zenith and 
declining toward the shadows of evening and the 
night of death ? Ah no! Had He so chosen, or 
had there been need for it, He could have re- 
mained here until the present time, for death 
had no claim upon Him. 

Here we take our stand, by God's grace, tc 
confess the blessed truth and to reject with ab- 
horrence the thought that the icy hand of death 



148 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

could have been laid upon Him in any way, save 
as He voluntarily laid down His life: "I have 
power to lay it down, and I have power to take 
it again " (Jno. 10: 18). 

And is it not just this entire immunity from 
death or any of the consequences of sin which 
fitted Him to be the Substitute for us upon the 
cross ? We would be robbed of our Saviour if 
He were personally, as a Man, a debtor to death. 
Reverently speaking, He would have needed a 
Saviour Himself, one to pay the debt which 
every son of fallen Adam owed. But the oppo- 
site of all this is true: "As it is appointed unto 
men once to die ... so Christ was once offered " 
(Heb. 9: 27, 28) — not as a natural appointment, 
but in perfect grace as a willing Substitute — 
" God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made 
under the law," not to die because He had broken 
it, but as the Substitute " made a curse for us," 
"to redeem them that were under the law" 
(Gal. 4: # 5; 3: 13). The entire truth of substitu- 
tion, of atonement, rests upon this, whether it be 
in the Old Testament types which constantly 
emphasize the fact that "your lamb shall be 
without blemish" (Ex. 12: 5), or in the direct 
statements of the New, "In Him is no sin" 
(1 Jno. 3: 5). 

Upon the truth of this God set His seal in rais- 
ing up the body of our Lord from the grave. Let 
us remember it was the very body prepared by 



The boards — the acacia wood 149 

God for Him, which had been laid in the manger, 
had thirsted and hungered, slept in the storm, 
and wept at the grave. Did not God ever behold 
in Him "that Holy Thing," even as to the body? 
— though man spits upon it and crowns it with 
thorns; scourges Him; pierces His hands and 
feet; even in death pierces His side ! But at last, 
"having fulfilled all that was written of Him, 
they took Him down from the tree and laid Him 
in a sepulchre " (Acts 13: 29). His work being 
finished,not one thing more (which divine patience 
had permitted before) could man do to insult that 
body. It is taken down from the cross, wrapped 
in spices (suggestive of the sweetness and fra- 
grance of that death to God), and laid in a new 
sepulchre, which had never been tainted with 
death. The ashes of the sacrifice were poured 
out in a clean place; and no corruption is suffered 
to touch that Holy One (Acts 13:37). "Raised 
from the dead by the glory of the Father " in 
that same body in which He served God, and 
died and rose and will retain for ever, H« 
appeared to His disciples, and now sits upon the 
throne of God. 

But in opposing the irreverence of unbelief, 
let us beware of an opposite error. The body 
prepared was a perfectly natural body, capable 
of dying. Indeed, it was for this very purpose 
He became incarnate. To say that He was mor- 
tal, in the sense of being subject, or liable, to 



150 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

death, would be blasphemy; to say that He took 
a body that was capable of dying is to declare the 
foundation of truth for our blessing. 

Without descending into speculation about 
" secret things," which "belong to God," and 
which always tend to a degradation of Christ 
and the puffing up of the flesh (Col. 2: 18), we 
may say that Scripture does not state that had 
man remained unfallen he would have remained 
permanently dependent upon food to have main- 
tained life. In other words, the state in Eden is 
not declared to have been the eternal state. The 
possession of bodies similar to those of "the 
beasts that perish " would suggest that, had hu- 
man righteousness been a possibility, God would 
have brought in the eternal state by a divine 
change, analogous to the changing of the bodies 
of saints at the coming of the Lord (1 Cor. 15 : 51, 
52), though without the taint of sin. In like 
manner, had the cross not been a necessity for 
our salvation, our Lord could have passed with- 
out dying from the condition of bodily existence 
suited to earth to that glorified body which He 
now has. He never saw corruption, and in that 
sense His resurrection would answer to that 
"change/' though as His incarnation was volun- 
tary, so would the change have been — no ques- 
tion of infirmity in any case. We also gather 
from Scripture that the resurrection-body is one 
which does not depend upon earthly conditions, 



The boards — the acacia wood 151 

but at the same time can come into them. He 
ate the broiled fish and honeycomb to show them 
His body was truly material, and yet it was no 
longer a body for the earth (Luke 24: 42, 43). 

We turn again briefly to another subject sug- 
gested by the acacia wood — the temptibility of 
our Lord. Just as error has made the incarna- 
tion to include liability to bodily infirmities and 
death, so it has taught that our Lord was capa- 
ble of yielding to temptation. Let us stamp that 
at once as absolute untruth. How could One 
who was positively and only righteous, with a 
moral nature absolutely and only divine, to whom 
obedience to God was therefore His life, be capa- 
ble of yielding to sin? " The prince of this world 
cometh, and hath nothing in Me " (Jno. 14: 30). 

But it will be said that while He did not yield 
to sin, He could have done so ; and if not, of what 
use was the temptation ? We might well ask, 
If He could have yielded to it, what need for the 
temptation ? Perhaps an illustration maybe help- 
ful. There are tests to detect metals which look 
like gold, and are not. These tests are applied to 
true metal as well as the counterfeits, not to 
show it is capable of yielding to the test and 
becoming brass, but just the reverse, to show 
it to be absolutely incapable. In like manner 
the believer in Christ has "eternal life" and 
can never perish, yet the tests of profession are 



152 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

applied to him, and they bring out the reality of 
the life he has. It is impossible for gold to re- 
spond to a test for brass, impossible for a true 
believer to fall away as a mere professor, and 
how much more impossible for our Lord to have 
yielded to temptation. But it will be said that 
the true child of God may yield to temptation, 
and why not our Lord ? What is it that makes it 
possible for the child of God to yield to tempta- 
tion ? The presence of the fallen nature, the 
flesh. Did our Lord have that? " Whosoever 
is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed 
remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he 
is born of God " (i Jno. 3: 9). This is said of the 
believer, as born of God; is less to be said of that 
Holy One ? 

It may be further objected that unfallen Adam 
was capable of yielding to temptation, and in fact 
did. Quite true ; and is the Last Adam the same ? 
As we haye already said, our Lord's humanity 
was not precisely like that of unfallen man. He 
had as Man the nature, and only that, which man 
gets from God in new birth. It was not new in 
His case, save as distinguished from -the birth of 
all other men. He was only born once, and had 
no need to be born again. 

We have purposely refrained from introducing 
the other great truth of our Lord's deity and the 
union of the divine and human natures in one 
person. This will come before us presently when 



The boards — the acacia wood 153 

we consider the gold, and will be seen to confirm 
more fully what we have been dwelling upon. 
But we should be clear even without dwelling 
upon that side of His person, as to our Lord's 
absolute incapability of yielding to temptation. 

Have we lost anything in thus seeing that our 
Saviour could not sin as well as did not ? Is any- 
thing of " touched with the feeling of our infirm- 
ities " missed in learning that it was, and ever is, 
" sin apart " (Heb. 4: 15) ? Is He for this less 
"able to succor them that are tempted " (Heb. 
2 : 18) ? Let us then see in what sense He "suf- 
fered being tempted," and in that we will find 
the answer to these questions. 

We have those special temptations by Satan 
recorded, doubtless as giving us the principle of 
all temptations that are "common to man." 
There may be a closer correspondence than we 
have thought between those three forms of temp- 
tation and that to which our first parents yield- 
ed. (See Matt. 4: 1-11.) There was much in the 
way of contrast too. Instead of a paradise, our 
Lord had a wilderness; instead of every need 
met, He was without food. The devil first ap- 
peals to Him as Son of God, or perhaps raises 
also the question whether He be that. He is 
hungry, yet able to make stones into bread; for 
had He not created all things ? But our Lord 
was there as Man, and would not use His divine 
power. He will suffer hunger rather than yield 



154 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

to the temptation to use His divine power. Could 
one of us have made stones into bread ? Then 
He will not do aught that man cannot do. 

The question raised by Satan is, impliedly at 
least, whether God really cares for Him. He has 
left Him to suffer — why not take His case in His 
own hands ? This was the question raised with 
the woman: " Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not 
eat of every tree of the garden " (Gen. 3:1)? 
He insinuated the doubt of God's goodness and 
love ; and she took her case into her own hands 
— deceived, but responsibly deceived, for she 
turned from the word of God and listened to 
Satan. She did not suffer, if suffering it could 
possibly be called when God had met every 
need, and so she fell, and Adam fell with her. 
That ended the trial of the first man, eternally. 
He can never stand before God save as a guilty, 
lost sinner. 

But the people of God, who have been brought 
to Him through the cross of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, in His infinite grace, are left in this 
world, and the malignity of the vanquished foe 
assails them in every possible way, to mar their 
communion and lead them to dishonor God. 
Again, therefore, he presents his specious lie, 
suggesting that God does not care, that we had 
better see to our own case and provide for our- 
selves. Forgetting those words of love that will 
abide forever, " He that spared not His own Son, 



The boards — the acacia wood 155 

but delivered Him tip for us all, how shall He 
not with Him also freely give us all things ? " 
(Rom. 8 : 32), we know not how to answer 
the tempter. But we turn to our Lord, and cry 
to Him for aid. Would it help us if we thought 
that He had had desires, feelings, wishes, to yield 
to this temptation — that His " feet had well-nigh 
slipped" (Ps. 73: 2) ? If it did help us, whose 
help would it be but that of Satan, leading us to 
think lightly of sin and lightly of the Holy One 
of God. The work of Satan is always seen in 
making us think sin is a little thing : the fear of 
God and the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ ever 
show it in all its awful reality. 

It may be said that the sympathy of those who 
have fallen into sin is more helpful to those 
tempted than of one who has never failed in that 
particular respect. It is not the sympathy of 
such persons necessarily that is helpful, but 
rather their counsel and testimony to the power 
of Christ to deliver. But apart from that, con- 
necting our Lord with sin, save as the One who 
put it away by His atoning work, and as our Ad- 
vocate on high, is blasphemy, and only a cloak to 
make Him the minister of sin. Would we dare 
think of Him as on the same level with our fel- 
low-sinner ? 

After all, it is not sympathy with sin that is 
needed. Sin is not to be spared or condoned. 
We might as well nurse a viper and not expect 



156 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

to be bitten as to crave sympathy for our sin. Sin 
is not a misfortune or an infirmity; it is that 
abominable thing which God hates, which mur- 
dered Christ. It would, if allowed, cast God 
from His throne and put Satan there. Oh, may 
God deepen in our hearts the abhorrence of dis- 
obedience to Him, which is sin. 

The next form of temptation which Satan set 
before the Lord, to cast Himself down from a 
pinnacle of the temple, would have been to 
abuse the goodness of God— the opposite of the 
former temptation. The very inducement, in 
Satan's mind, may have been to presume on the 
written Word. There may have been too in his 
mind the thought that our Lord would thus ap- 
prove Himself to the people as Messiah. But not 
a thought of this kind was in Christ's holy mind. 
Messiah of His people He was, and longed that 
they should truly recognize Him as such, but it 
must be by true conviction of sin and turning to 
God, and not by some dazzling display of super- 
natural power. Miracles our Lord did, freely and 
constantly, as evidences of who He was, and as 
ministering to man's need — never to display 
Himself to the natural man. He walked upon 
the water to reach His disciples and to confirm 
their faith. After His resurrection also, He 
showed them how in His new relationship there 
was no longer limitation of material things. He 
was giving them, may we not say ? illustrations 



The boards — the acacia wood 157 

of what was to be their's too, as well as establish- 
ing the fact in their hearts of His mastery over 
all things. 

But what was the element of suffering in our 
Lord in thus refusing the temptation ? Most 
certainly not that His will or desire was to pre- 
sume on God, but in refusing the wrong means 
to reach a desired end. The means were absolu- 
tely repulsive to Him, even though coated over 
with a misquoted scripture (Ps. 91:11,1 2) — though 
the end, to reach His beloved people, to awaken 
them, He could and did desire. And was it not 
pain to Him still to wait ? — as the sorrow which 
later led Him to weep over Jerusalem ? We use 
an illustration. The son of a godly father is 
justly imprisoned. The father's heart yearns 
over his son; he would love to pay his fine and 
set him at liberty, but has not the means: there 
is an opportunity to steal the money. How 
does it appeal to the father ? Does it make him 
want to steal ? No, but it pains him to turn away 
from his son, and the temptation has added to 
his pain by showing him that he cannot help his 
child. This is but a feeble illustration, and our 
poor hearts have been so accustomed to thoughts 
of self-will that we but feebly apprehend the ab 
solute revulsion which our holy Lord felt at any 
suggestion of disobedience to His Father. 

This comes out more plainly still in the last 
temptation; all the more clearly to us s perhaps, 



158 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

because the issues are so sharply drawn. It is to 
worship some one (Satan has not declared him- 
self) beside God, and the bait is the kingdoms 
and glory of the world. Our Lord at once dis- 
closes Satan and bids him depart ; God, God 
alone, is to be worshiped and served — anything 
else was abominable to His holy soul. 

But, again, what was the element of suffering 
in thus being tempted ? We have already alluded 
to the pain it gives a pure soul to be brought 
in any way in contact with evil. Where the purity 
was absolute and perfect the pain must have 
been intense. We steel ourselves more than we 
think by indifference. There was none of that in 
Him. The suggestion of evil was not merely an 
insult to Him, but it outraged every faculty of a 
holy nature zealous for the glory of God. To Him 
the mere presence of sin was deep pain; to be in 
company with a being capable of making such 
suggestions was torture. Is it not pain for a pure 
person to be thrown in the company of a foul 
blasphemer and to be approached with suggest- 
ions of similar sin ? Would it not be still more 
painful were the person outwardly pleasing in 
manner ? Satan is none the less Satan when he 
is transformed into an angel of light. 

The kingdoms of the world and their glory — 
to whom did they belong ? Were they not rightly 
His ? Could He not appreciate all that was at- 
tractive and beautiful, apart from sin ? Did He 



The boards — the acacia wood 15 ) 

not read on many a bright page of prophecy that 
all was one day to be His ? In a very real sense 
He could think of all that was there — the beauty 
of nature, the power of rule — as one day to be 
subject to Himself. But even that could have 
no attraction for Him save to subdue all things 
to His Father's authority. And He would re- 
member, never could for a moment forget, that 
it was to be the Father's gift to Him: "Ask of 
Me, and I will give Thee the heathen for Thine 
inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth 
for Thy possession" (Ps. 2: 8). They would then 
be put in His hands by His Father, and in His 
time and way. He will not anticipate, like Jacob, 
nor accept a lie, whatever show of power and 
glory there might be in it. He knew, as alas 
man refuses to know, that if God be turned from 
there is absolutely nothing left. 

So He would go on in the path of suffering 
rather than yield for one moment to the tempter: 
for faithfulness to God means suffering in a world 
where all is against Him. Our Lord abides in 
that path, and thus He suffered being tempted, 
while not one motion is produced toward a relief 
proposed by Satan. 

We have thus dwelt at some length, and yet 
how imperfectly, upon the incorruptibility of our 
Lord's humanity — a unique, a holy one; sub- 
jected to every form of temptation, to body, to 
soul, and to spirit — as perhaps suggested in the 



160 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

threefold attack of Satan — but perfect in it 
all. 

It may be well to call attention to two aspects 
of temptation spoken of in the first chapter of 
James: " My brethren, count it all joy when ye 
fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that 
the trying of your faith worketh patience " (Jas. 
i: 2, 3); "Let no man say when he is tempted, 
I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted 
with evil, neither tempteth He any man : but every 
man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his 
own lust and enticed" (vers. 13, 14). The first 
of these passages speaks of temptation or trial as- 
sailing from without ; the second, of desire or lust 
within. The first was that to which our Lord was 
subjected throughout His whole life ; the second, 
He was absolutely incapable of. Perish the 
thought that would link His holy name with it. 



LECTURE VIII 

The Gold upon the Wood 

WE pass now to the gold which completely 
covered these boards. Doubtless there is a 
divine lesson to be gathered here. The boards, the 
ark and all the furniture in the tabernacle were 
hidden from outside view. It was therefore only 
visible to the priests and to the eye of God. To 
the eye of man the divine glory of our Lord's 
humanity was hidden, veiled, save as faith saw 
beneath the cover of humiliation. But to God 
this is reversed. The acacia wood is covered 
over with gold. He beholds His co-equal Son in 
the depths of His humiliation; even on the cross 
it is His * 4 Fellow " who was smitten (Zech. 13: 
7). But let us see the scriptural basis for be- 
lieving gold to be typical of divine glory. * 



*The word used for gold, zahab, in connection with the 
tabernacle, is the ordinary one, occurring some 350 times in 
the Old Testament. It is from a root said to mean "to be 
bright," " yellow; " and cognate words have the same meaning. 
Its use in Scripture, as also largely illustrated by archaeology, 
was not so much for money, for silver was the " current money 
with the merchant, ' ' but for purposes of ornament and idolatry. 
No doubt it was kept also as hoarded wealth (Josh. 7 : 21), 



162 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

Gold stands for all that is valuable to man. In 
this way Scripture speaks of it in contrast with 
the precious things of God. Of God's judgments 
(His righteous ways and commandments as seen 



But its chief use seems to have been (apart from the all-prevail- 
ing idolatry, and with which it was connected) for making 
adornments. Rebekah was adorned thus by Abraham's servant 
(Gen. 24 : 22). Joseph bad a gold chain put upon him in token 
of his authority (Gen. 41 : 42) . Jewels of gold were demanded ( not 
"borrowed," as in A. V. ) from the Egyptians (Ex 12 : 35 • . In 
the spoil taken from the Midianites were "jewels of gold, chains 
and bracelets, rings, earrings and tablets" (Num. 31 : 50-54). 
The Ishmaelites, whom Gideon spoiled, had earrings of gold 
(Judges 8 : 22-26). The Philistines made golden images of their 
plagues (1 Sam. 6:4, 8). Saul adorned the daughters of 
Israel with gold (2 Sam. 1 : 24). The clothing of the king's 
daughter was of wrought gold (Ps. 45 : 13), and probably in the 
same way as the ephod of the high priest (Ex. 39 : 2, 3). Job's 
friends each brought him a present of an earring of gold (Job 
42 : 11). Apostate Israel was to be cast off even by her lovers, 
though adorned with gold (Jer. 4: 30 >, which were the very 
adornments which, typically, God had put upon her (Ezek. 16: 
13,17). 

Its brightness and beauty, resistance to rust and tarnish, 
the ease with which it could be worked, and other properties, 
made it a standard of value. It is significant that these very 
properties are given to the divine realities in contrast to it. 
"Your gold and silver is cankered" (Jas. 5:3). Silver and 
gold are "corruptible things," compared with "the precious 
blood of Christ " (1 Pet. 1 : 18, 19). " Gold that perishelh " 
(1 Pet. 1:7). So the "adornment" of women was not to be 
with literal gold, but with that which is in the sight of God of 
great price, the incorruptible ornament of "a meek and quiet 
spirit" (1 Pet. 3: 3, 4). In its typical meaning, it is "gold 
tried in the fire" which the Lord values, and is obtained from 
Him alone — all dross purged from what He values. 



The gold upon the wood 163 

in His law), the psalmist says: "More to be 
desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine 
gold" (Ps. 19: 10). Knowledge (of God) is to be 
received " rather than choice gold " (Prov. 8: 
10). Gold is that for which men labor, for which 
they will barter strength and health. For it they 
will give up ease and the happiness of home, and 
endanger life itself. Therefore Scripture speaks 
of covetousness (the lust of gold) as idolatry — 
this object of man's desire put in place of the 
Creator. We find therefore that images to be 
worshiped were often made of gold, representing 
what was most precious in human estimation. 
In the very book from which we learn how God 
was making use of gold to set forth His glory, 
we read of the golden calf, made and worshiped 
as a representation of Jehovah, linking God's 
holy name with the idolatrous worship. The 
golden calf is to the people not only an emblem 
of deity, but they worship it as their god (Ex. 

32: 3> 4). 

The same idolatry in another form is repeated 
by Gideon, one of the deliverers of Israel. Out 
of the golden earrings of the Midianites he had 
overcome, he makes an ephod, which becomes a 
centre of idolatrous worship, apparently linking 
God's holy name with it (Judges 8: 24-27). At 
the division of the kingdom of Israel, Jeroboam, 
foreseeing the danger that his people might re- 
turn to the house of David if allowed to go to 



164 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

worship at Jerusalem, set up golden calves for 
worship at Bethel and at Dan (i Kings 12 : 26-33). 
Of gold too was the great image which Nebu- 
chadnezzar set up to be worshiped (Dan. 3: 1) — 
a type, no doubt, of that final apostasy when the 
" image of the Beast" is worshiped, and God is 
openly disowned in His world. 

" Their idols are silver and gold, the work of 
men's hands," says the psalmist (Ps. 115 : 4). 
' ' Their land also is full of silver and gold . . . 
their land also is full of idols," says the prophet 
(Isa. 2 : 7, 8). That which man considers most 
precious, which his heart craves and which min- 
isters to his glory, he deifies; that is the root of 
idolatry. God is displaced and man exalted, in 
the exaltation of his idol. An awful degradation 
is the result, as the first chapter of Romans tells 
us (Rom. 1 : 25). 

But "the gold of that land is good " (Gen. 2: 
12). It is only when prostituted to evil uses that 
any of God's creatures become a source of evil; 
and gold, as the most precious thing man has, is 
fittingly an emblem of the divine prerogatives, 
which he falsely gives to his idol. Gold, then, is 
a figure of the glory of God, of His attributes 
of righteousness, holiness, wisdom, power, good- 
ness and truth — everything that is suggested by 
the purity, brightness and value of the metal. 
That this is not guess-work is seen not merely in 
the negative way we have been looking at it, but 



The gold upon the wood 165 

from the fact that, under God's direction, gold 
was used where these great facts were to be 
brought out. Solomon's temple, as God's earthly- 
abode, was overlaid with gold, even its floor 
(i Kings 6: 21, 22, 30). And in the book of Rev- 
elation the heavenly city is described as " having 
the glory of God; " " and the city was pure gold, 
like unto clear glass;" "and the street of the 
city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass " 
(Rev. 21: 11, 18, 21). Thus where God is fully 
manifest in all His glory the figure used to ex- 
press that majesty, which none can fully know, is 
gold. We are thus justified in the thought that 
gold is a figure of the divine glory of the Son of 
God, just as the acacia wood tells us of His per- 
fect humanity. 

Let us then meditate upon His deity for a lit- 
tle, and gather from the word of God that which 
it declares so plainly: " In the beginning was the 
Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word 
was God. All things were made by Him, and 
without Him was not anything made that was 
made" (Jno. 1: 1-3). Here is the gold shining 
forth. It is the Creator, for "all things were 
made by Him." It is Deity, for "the Word 
was God." We cannot escape that, and need not 
fear to use it in the fullest way. More than that, 
" the Word was with God." The Son is seen as 
distinct from the Father, but in blessed associ- 
ation with Him: " I was by Him, as one brought 



166 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

up with Him; and I was daily His delight, re- 
joicing always before Him" (Prov. 8 : 22-31). 
" Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
that though He was rich (in divine glory), yet for 
yoursakes He became poor " (2 Cor. 8:9). " Who 
being in the form of God, thought it not robbery 
(a thing to be grasped) to be equal with God " in 
the outward glory or display of His deity (Phil. 
2:6). Divine honor is rendered to God by all His 
own; but the same is to be rendered to His Son: 
4 * That all men should honor the Son, even as 
they honor the Father. He that honoreth not 
the Son, honoreth not the Father which hath 
sent Him " (Jno. 5 : 23) ; and it is at the name of 
the once humbled Jesus, now 4< highly exalted," 
that every knee, even of His foes, shall bow. 
The gold shines brightly here, though closely 
blended with the acacia wood. 

As is well known, the word most frequently 
used in the Old Testament for " God " is a plu- 
ral, "Elohim" but it always takes a verb in the 
singular number. This has been explained as 
" the plural of majesty." But in the light of pas- 
sages quoted, and others to follow, do we not see 
in it a foreshadowing of the divine Persons in the 
Godhead? In the first chapter of Genesis the 
Spirit of God is spoken of as brooding upon the 
face of the waters. We know from John 1 and 
other scriptures that "the Word," the only be- 
gotten Son, was the Creator of all things. We 



The gold upon the wood 167 

already can see the three divine persons — one 
God — in connection with creation. And this also 
in the divine counsel together: "Let Us make 
man in Our image, after Our likeness " (Gen. 1 : 
26). With whom could He take counsel as an 
equal, but with the One who — with the eternal 
Spirit — was ever with Him and His delight, and 
who, blessed be His name, had His delights with 
the sons of men ? 

The Old Testament was the time of infancy, 
so far as the revelation and knowledge of God 
were concerned; but all through, now that we 
have the full light of revelation in the New Tes- 
tament, we can see the golden gleam of the di- 
vine Son. It was Christ, who by the Spirit, went 
and preached, through Noah, to the men before 
the flood, and whose spirits are now in prison — 
solemn thought ! (1 Pet. 3 : 18, 19). Who can 
fail to see the suggestion of the infinite love of 
God in the gift of His only begotten Son, in those 
words to Abraham, "Take now thy son, thine 
only son Isaac, whom thou lovest" (Gen. 22: 2) ? 
Doubtless it was on this very occasion that Abra- 
ham saw our Lord's day, and was glad. And 
when the Jews expressed their unbelief that the 
Man before them could have seen Abraham, our 
Lord declares His absolute deity, tl Before Abra- 
ham was, / am " — the eternal, self-existing Je- 
hovah (John 8: 56-58). 

It was the reproach of Christ which Moses 



168 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

esteemed as " greater riches than the treasures 
in Egypt " (Heb. n : 26). It was Christ who fol- 
lowed, as the Rock, His redeemed people in the 
wilderness, and whom they tempted by their un- 
belief (1 Cor. 10: 4, 9). It was the holy Person 
whom we know as the Christ of God, who was 
there with them in Egypt and during all their 
wanderings. It was God, God the Son, who was 
there with them — not excluding the presence of 
the Father and Spirit, indeed, but giving promi- 
nence in this connection to the Eternal Son. And 
so throughout the Old Testament history we 
have not only types and prophecies of the coming 
One, but intimations of the Son in that divine 
Presence. 

In the Psalms we have His deity clearly and 
distinctly taught. "The King of glory "in Ps. 
24 : 7-10 is declared to be "Jehovah of hosts." 
But this King of glory is also "mighty in battle," 
and is identical with the Victor who is seen in 
Ps. 45 with sword girt upon His thigh, and He 
is none other than " the Word of God " (Rev. 19: 
11-16). In Ps. 45 He is addressed by the divine 
title : "Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever " 
(ver. 6). 

We have, then, direct testimony to the deity 
of the Son. But it will be noticed that it is the 
Messiah who is seen here — a Man as well as God. 
It is most wonderful to see how, as we might 
say, the gold takes the form of the acacia wood 



The gold upon the wood 169 

which it overlays. Truly the "form of a ser- 
vant " was never in the Father's eyes a veil to 
the divine glory which was ever before Him. 
Perhaps this is more vividly seen in our next 
quotation than in almost any other portion of 
Scripture : "He weakened My strength in the 
way; He shortened My days. I said, O My God, 
take Me not away in the midst of My days " (Ps. 
102: 23, 24). There is no question to whom these 
words, and indeed the entire psalm, refer. The 
first chapter of Hebrews quotes directly from the 
words following those already quoted. It is the 
"prayer of the afflicted, when He is overwhelm- 
ed" — the Lord pouring out His soul with strong 
crying and tears, as inGethsemane. He is alone, 
suffering the reproach of His enemies, but above 
all anticipating the terror of divine wrath — all 
undeserved — for the sins of others. We may say 
the shadow of the cross is heavily thrown over 
the lonely Sufferer. His days are numbered, and 
for Him upon whom death had no claim how 
dark it was, as linked with penalty for sin not 
His own! 

And was it not perfectly right that He should 
cling to life ? Was it not a mark of His human 
perfection that He did so in looking at that side ? 
So He addresses the Eternal, "O My God, take 
Me not away in the midst of My days; " or, as in 
the Gospel narrative, though no doubt including 
more, "My Father, if it be possible, let this cup 



170 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

pass from Me " (Matt. 26: 39). He waits for the 
answer, we may say, and we have it from God in 
the next verses. What reply can be given to 
such devotedness which, in the face of such a 
death can say, g ' Not My will, but Thine be 
done ? " "Of old hast Thou laid the foundation 
of the earth : and the heavens are the work of 
Thy hands. They shall perish, but Thou shalt 
endure : yea, all of them shall wax old like a gar- 
ment; as a vesture shalt Thou change them, and 
they shall be changed: but Thou art the same, 
and Thy years shall have no end " (Ps. 102 : 

25"*7). 
What more absolute statement could there be 

of the deity of this Holy One ? He is the Eter- 
nal, the Unchanging, the Creator of all things, 
which shall pass away while He shall abide. 
This passage shows how the Spirit of God speaks 
of Christ in places where we would little suspect 
it. But the quotation of this passage in the first 
chapter of Hebrews leaves no doubt that it is the 
Son who is here addressed (Heb. 1: 10-12). 

The same divine truth — the deity in connec- 
tion with the humanity of our Lord — is seen in 
the Prophets: '" Behold, a virgin shall conceive, 
and bear a Son and shall call His name Imman- 
uel," " which l>eing interpreted is, God with us" 
(Isa. 7: 14; Matt. 1: 23). Here again it is Jesus — 
the acacia wood, with which this divine title is 
connected. 



The gold upon the wood 171 

<c For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is 
given: and the government shall be upon His 
shoulder: and His name shall be called, Wonder- 
ful, Counsellor, the mighty God, the Father of 
Eternity, the Prince of Peace'' (Isa. 9 : 6). "I 
clothe the heavens with blackness, and I make 
sackcloth their covering. The Lord God hath 
opened Mine ear, and I was not rebellious, 
neither turned away back " (Isa. 50:3, 5). The 
whole chapter is a wonderful presentation of Him 
who is God, who could lay His hands upon the 
heavens, and yet who as the obedient One yielded 
Himself up to God, and suffered shame and spit- 
ting and death. 

" Behold the days come, saith the Lord, that I 
will raise unto David a righteous Branch . . . 
and this is His name whereby He shall be called, 
Jehovah our Righteousness" (Jer. 23: 6). "And 
above the firmament that was over their (the 
cherubim's) heads was the likeness of a throne, 
as the appearance of a sapphire stone : and upon 
the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the 
appearance of a Man above it" (Ezek. 1: 26). 
God alone can sit upon the throne of God ; so in 
Daniel 7 : 9, He (Christ) is called "the Ancient 
of Days." 

" But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou 
be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out 
of thee shall He come forth unto Me that is to be 
Ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been 



172 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

from of old, from everlasting" (Mic. 5: 2). And 
in Zechariah 13: 7, as we have already seen, He 
is called Jehovah's Fellow. 

Thus there can be no question from the Old 
Testament that the Messiah, the Lord Jesus, is 
in the fullest sense divine — God. How foolish 
then the attempt to separate the divine and hu- 
man natures in the One holy Person! He is 
Man, but He is absolutely and always God. The 
mystery is there, but faith will bow to that, and 
own there are depths of light which the creature 
mind cannot fathom, and which rests happily in 
its dependence upon a love, a wisdom, a power 
and a mercy which passeth knowledge. 

We quote a few passages further from the New 
Testament: "Who is the image of the invisible 
God, the First-born of all creation. For by Him 
were all things created, that are in heaven, and 
that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether 
they be thrones or dominions or principalities or 
powers: all things were created by Him and for 
Him: and He is before all things, and by Him 
all things consist " (Col. 1 : 15-17). This is a 
wonderful passage, in which our Lord, as Man, 
is presented before us as the image of the invis- 
ible God. In a way in which the first man was 
not, even in his innocency, Christ was the reflec- 
tion of the moral character of God. He is also 
the Head of all creation — First-born, not in time, 
but in position, and by right. And then the 



The gold upon the wood 173 

reason for this is given: He is Creator of it all. 
If the Creator takes His place as Man, in infinite 
grace, in His own creation, He must be its Head 
from the very fact that He is its Creator. He 
may not display His full divine glories, but 4< He 
cannot deny Himself," He cannot cease to be 
God. In this is seen the blasphemy of " Ken- 
osis" — the doctrine that our Lord, laid aside His 
deity, or that it was, at His birth, practically re- 
duced to nothing. What an evil thing is the 
mind of man when not subject to God, and when 
led on by Satan; and what an awful lie that 
44 knowledge of good and evil " could make man 
as God! And disobedience thus becomes actual 
blasphemy by putting man in the place of God! 
But here is the infinite grace of God to ruined 
rebels, that He, God the Son, came down into 
the place of man, a real Man, to put away sin by 
the sacrifice of Himself. 

But to return. It is in connection with His in- 
carnation that we have this strong declaration of 
His deity. Not only is the material universe His 
creation, but the orders of spiritual beings, to 
the very highest, are inferior to Him by the im- 
measurable distance of infinity. "All things were 
created by Him " — He is the Author of their 
being; and " for Him" — they exist for His glory. 
The creature can never be for itself without ab- 
solute ruin. God alone is perfect love ; and the 
Son is the Centre and Object of all things. Only 



174 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

thus can creation be brought into true bless- 
ing. Here then is the amazing work of re- 
demption. Need we wonder then that God has 
woven together in divine life and oneness of 
Person the deity and the humanity of the all- 
glorious One who came to effect this stupendous 
work ? We have redemption in Him who is God 
and Man; through His blood, who is God and 
Man. He has reconciled all things to Himself, 
for He is God and Man; through His death, who 
is God and Man. And you, once enemies, hath 
He reconciled in the body of His flesh, who is 
God and Man. He who is Head of His Church 
is God and Man. The link with His creation is 
His humanity, His incarnation; and with sinful 
man it is by His death. But His deity gives the 
value to this, without which, reverently may we 
say it, redemption could not have been effected. 
Turn again to the epistle to the Hebrews, first 
chapter: "Who being the brightness of His 
glory" — there is the gold ; and "the very im- 
press of His substance " — there is the stamp of 
that which makes the coin; "and upholding all 
things by the Word of His power " — He is the God 
of providence : " By Him all things consist, " as in 
Col. i. All these are divine attributes ; they 
could be ascribed to none but God. Could we 
conceive of an absolutely perfect man, we could 
ascribe no such attributes to him. It would be 
blasphemy to speak of such a one as " the bright- 



The gold upon the wood 175 

ness of God's glory, the express image of His 
substance, and upholding all things by the word 
of His power." 

The next clause brings us face to face with the 
mystery of His death: " When He had by Him- 
self purged our sins." This was by the shedding 
of His blood. But whose blood ? Is there a 
change of persons ? Who and what is He but 
the eternal Son of God, who thus became Man 
that He might make purification for sins? His 
deity identified with a sinless and perfect human- 
ity gave infinite value to that sacrifice. It war, 
"by Himself." He, in the fulness of His divine 
being and spotless humanity, was the " altar that 
sanctifieth the gift" (Matt. 23: 19). Of what 
value would any other sacrifice be ? 

All these passages show how this truth of the 
gold, the deity of the Son, permeates all Scripture. 
We have merely touched upon a few prominent 
passages which speak of "God manifest in the 
flesh" (1 Tim. 3: 16). Even in speaking of His 
atoning death the apostle John says, "The blood 
of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all 
sin" (1 Jno. 1: 7). This is the Eternal Son of 
God with whom the apostle says our fellowship 
truly is. And the same apostle closes his first 
epistle after speaking of the Son of God who has 
come by saying: "This [One] is the true God 
and Eternal Life" (1 Jno. 5: 20). 

No idolatry, then, in addressing Him as God. 



176 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

It is the remedy and preventative of idolatry to 
have the heart truly thus in subjection to Him; 
the only way " little children" can keep them- 
selves from idols (i Jno. 5 : 21). He is "over 
all, God blessed forever" (Rom. 9 : 5). He is 
" the First and the Last, the living One who be- 
came dead, and lives for evermore " (Rev. 1: 17, 
■18, R. V.). 

It is not however upon " proof texts" alone, 
no matter how numerous or clear, that we rely 
for our knowledge of the deity of the Son ; that 
truth is in the warp and woof of Scripture. The 
incidental references to it are beyond computa- 
tion; it forms the basic tone of all the harmonies 
of that Word — from which all starts, to which all 
returns, without which there could be no divine 
harmony. We can better conceive of day with- 
out the sun, than of the word of God without the 
divine Son. 

But we must leave this holy subject to be pur- 
sued by the humble believer, and notice one other 
thought suggested by the gold. We have seen 
that it is prominent in the symbolism of heaven, 
where He manifests Himself. Earth, where sin 
is, could not be the place for the display of divine 
glory, save in judgment. Therefore the Son of 
God veiled His glory when He came on His er- 
rand of love. After His resurrection He appeared 
to none but His own. The world will never see 
Him till the day of His appearing in power and 



The gold upon the wood 177 

glory as Judge of the living and the dead. But 
faith even now sees "Jesus crowned with glory 
and honor" (Heb. 2: 9). Thus the place for the 
display of the gold is in the glory. So it fittingly 
adorns only the interior of the sanctuary. But 
faith enters with boldness and sees Him on the 
throne, and every one who is born of God be- 
lieves "that Jesus is the Son of God" (1 Jno. 5: 
5). Such truly love " the appearing of the glory 
of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ M (Tit. 
2 : 13,/. N. D. Version). The time will come when 
the veil will be forever removed, and the glory 
of the Son will shine in heaven, and on earth too, 
even to the uttermost bounds: "For the Lord 
God omnipotent reigneth." Hallelujah! 

Thus we have sought to indicate the meaning 
of the acacia wood and the overlaying gold — the 
incorruptible humanity and the absolute deity of 
the Son of God. May it be a theme of pre- 
cious meditation and worship here, as it will be 
throughout eternity, where the glories of Christ 
are displayed in all that is perfectly human and 
all that is absolutely divine, in one Person. There 
we shall see and joy in the Man who lived, who 
loved, who suffered, who died ; and oh, holy 
mystery! we gaze with veiled faces, owning Him 
as the Word, who is and was and ever shall be, 
God! 

"Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven 
image, or anv likeness of anything that is in 



178 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or 
that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt 
not bow down thyself to them nor serve them : 
for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God " (Ex. 
20: 4, 5). God is jealous of giving His glory to 
another, but that only emphasizes the fact that 
the Son is one with the Father. All images that 
man might make can but provoke to jealousy; 
but here is " the image of the invisible God." He 
is jealous for His Son, "that all men should 
honor the Son even as they honor the Father." 

"Worthy, O Lamb of God, art Thou 
That every knee to Thee should bow." 



LECTURE IX 

The Sockets and the Boards 
(Exodus 36 : 20-24 ; 30 : 11-16 ; 38 : 25-27.) 

HAVING looked at the wood and the gold 
which formed the boards of the tabernacle, 
we will now examine their form, dimensions, 
foundation and relation to each other. 

As we have already seen, each board rested upon 
two sockets or foundations of silver of one talent 
each, cast from the silver of the redemption 
money which each man of responsible age had 
to pay for his ransom, half a shekel or ten ge- 
rahs. Thus standing side by side these boards 
not only rested securely upon their foundation, 
but were held firmly together by the three bars 
passed through the golden rings on the boards 
all around; while at the corners, whatever the 
details, provision was made for strength and to 
prevent any separation, where it would be most 
likely to occur. 

Forty-eight boards in all formed the taber- 
nacle — twenty for each side, six at the rear, and 
two at the corners. The front was open, save for 
the hanging and the five pillars from which it 
was suspended. There were also four pillars 
within the tabernacle, to support the veil which 



180 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

divided the Most Holy from the Holy place; each 
of the four pillars resting upon a silver socket. 

Let us now look at the spiritual meaning of all 
this, as the Lord may enlighten us. We begin 
where the builder always begins, with the foun- 
dation. Unless this be right the whole super- 
structure is of no value. At the close of the Ser- 
mon on the Mount, our Lord speaks of the foun- 
dation rather than the character of the house 
built by His hearers. That being right, all would 
be secure. The wise man builds upon the rock 
of a genuine obedience to Christ; the foolish, 
upon the sand of an empty profession (Matt. 7 : 
24-27). 

The meaning of these silver sockets is made so 
clear from the scripture that speaks of them, that 
there can be no question. God's habitation — 
His redeemed people — was to rest upon the solid 
foundation of redemption. The necessity for 
this is strongly emphasized in that no man could 
be considered as His at all apart from the re- 
demption-money paid for each one. No exemp- 
tion was made, and no excuse could be pleaded. 
The rich were not permitted to pay more, nor 
the poor less than the half shekel.* If God is to 

*A shekel is said to be equivalent to 2s. 6d., or about 62 cents. 
A half shekel each man alike had to pay. God is no respecter 
of persons, and redemption views all men on the same level 
before God. The rich might think it but a trifle, but it could 
not be neglected; and none were so poor as to be unable to 



The sockets and the boards 181 

have a redeemed people among whom He will 
dwell, it must be according to His, not their, 
thoughts. The price is to be half a shekel, or ten 
gerahs, according to the shekel of the sanctuary 
— the divine estimation. Man might conceive 
that something else might be more suited for his 
redemption — his own works, his feelings, his wor- 
thiness, or his faithfulness. But God's holiness 
and righteousness would not permit poor man to 
be so deceived. The foundation must be accord- 
ing to God's estimation,- the shekel must be 
according to the balances of the sanctuary. 

Notice that the price was ten gerahs. We have 
this number in the height of the boards, and 
have already seen its significance, as in the ten 
commandments, the divine measure of man's re- 
sponsibility, and in the ten curtains which show 
how perfectly Christ met this. A ransom must 
meet this responsibility, or it cannot avail be- 
fore God. The lawyer, "willing to justify him- 

give it. The prominent thought is the availability of the ran- 
som price, so as to leave each one without excuse 

This half shekel is also called a " bekah " (Ex 38 : 26), which 
literally means a "split," or "half." It seems to have been a 
coin or unit of weight, and thus would be used in much the 
same way as we speak of a "quarter," meaning the coin of the 
value of twenty-five cents. The golden earring, or face jewel 
which Abraham's servant gave to Rebekah was a "bekah of a 
shekel " (Gen. 24 : 22). The ve»b means to cleave or divide, 
and is used of the cleaving of "the rocks in the wilderness " ( Ps. 
78 : 15)— a significant reminder of the Rock which was cleft 
for us. 



182 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

self," cuts the law in two : "And who is my 
neighbor?*' (Luke 10 : 29). He leaves God out, 
the only One before whom man must be justified. 
And how common, well-nigh universal, is this 
thought! Men's consciences seem to be asleep 
as to God's claims, and they profess to think that 
if they do their duty to their fellow-men — and 
even that according to their own estimation — it 
is a good ground of acceptance before God! 

But could a man fully meet his responsibility 
to his fellow-men, could he love his neighbor as 
himself, would that meet his responsibility to 
God ? The very image of God in which man was 
made declares God's absolute claim upon him for 
perfect allegiance and devotedness. Can man be 
independent of or indifferent to his Creator and 
Preserver's holy will and be guiltless ? And obe- 
dience to God must be, like Himself, perfect in 
every part to be acceptable to Him. Thus all are 
"guilty before God" (Rom. 3: 19), for none 
have kept His law in this way, nor can fallen 
man do so. Therefore he needs what God in His 
love has provided — a ransom which measures up 
perfectly to all that in which man has utterly 
failed; a ransom provided by God, and therefore 
perfect as Himself. 

What this ransom is every child of God knows 
—that which meets the curse of the broken law. 
But " Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of 
the law, being made a curse for us : for it is written, 



The sockets and the boards 183 

Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree " 
(Gal. 3 : 13). Thus while man never has and 
never could pay the ten gerahs of his responsi- 
bility, Christ has paid in full, according to the 
divine estimation, and thus provided the perfect 
ransom. This atonement price forms the solid 
and eternal foundation upon which the guiltiest 
sinner who believes upon Him can rest. In the 
type, this was the ten gerahs of silver. The anti- 
type is given thus: " Forasmuch as ye know 
that ye were not redeemed with corruptible 
things, as silver and gold . . . but with the 
precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without 
blemish and without spot" (1 Pet. 1: 18, 19). 

If we take up that holy law which declares 
our responsibility, and look at each command- 
ment, we must confess we have utterly failed in 
keeping any part of it; we have broken it in 
heart if not outwardly, as our Lord shows in the 
Sermon on the Mount. But as we take up each 
command, instead of saying, " Lord, have mercy 
upon us, and incline our hearts to keep this law," 
we can say, M Redeemed with the precious blood 
of Christ. " Broken every command, in spirit at 
least — guilty of all in the sight of God, but 
" redeemed with the precious blood of Christ!" 
Here we rest — on a solid and eternal foundation 
upon which all the redeemed for all time will 
find that it can never be shaken. It is the 
assurance of this which by the Holy Spirit pro- 



184 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

duces love and gratitude which constrain the 
soul to abhor sin and to walk in obedience to 
God. 

But what did this "redemption through His 
blood " (Eph. i : 7) involve for our holy Lord ? 
The parable of the pearl of great price, in Matt. 
13: 45, 46, will show us. The usual thought that 
the merchantman is the sinner seeking for salva- 
tion, which is the pearl — or perhaps Christ is 
considered that — is far from the truth; far from 
God's thought. The sinner giving up all that he 
has to buy salvation — to buy Christ ?! What has 
he to buy with but his sins. Is this the gospel of 
the grace of God ? But, thank God, the gospel 
He has sent His servants to proclaim is "that 
Christ died for our sins, according to the Scrip- 
tures " (1 Cor. 15 : 3); and, "the gift of God is 
eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord M 
(Rom. 6: 23). We know it is the Shepherd "who 
gave His life for the sheep" (Jno. 10: 11). 

But, it may be objected, if the merchantman 
is Christ who is seeking the sinner, then the 
pearl, that beautiful jewel, must be the sinner! 
Yes, we reply; for this is the wonder of divine 
love and grace. No one but the practised seeker 
would know that down at the bottom of the sea 
in the unsightly shell-fish is the pearl which, 
brought out and polished, is fit to adorn a royal 
crown. So no eye but that of our Lord, piercing 
down through the dark waters of death, where 



The sockets and the boards 185 

we lay in the mire of our sin, could see in us a 
beauty which He Himself was to put upon us. 
And no power but His could have gone down, 
at the cost of His own life, to bring us up anc} 
make us meet to adorn His crown of rejoicing fov 
eternity. Yes, the Church is the pearl, as in Rev, 
21 : 21, where each gate speaks of it. 

This indeed shows us what price was paid fot 
the pearl. "Ye know the grace of our Lord 
Jesus Christ, that, though He was rich, yet fot 
your sakes He became poor, that ye through His 
poverty might be rich " (2 Cor. 8:9). How poor 
did the Son of God become ? He laid aside His 
divine glory; took a servant's form; ci had not 
where to lay His head," as He said. When asked 
about paying tribute to Caesar, He asked for the 
tribute money. Women ministered to Him of 
their substance (Luke 8 : 3) — precious privilege, 
to be had even now in ministering to " one of the 
least " of His own. Yet all this could not meas- 
ure His poverty. We must look at Calvary, 
where He laid down His life under God's judg- 
ment for our sins. So poor He became. From 
the glory of heaven down to be made a curse' 
Truly He sold all that He had. 

Here then are the silver sockets — the redemp- 
tion-price paid by our Lord on the cross. Thus 
was the foundation laid on which He builds His 
Church, on which the whole redeemed family 
of God rests, and the gates of hades shall not 



186 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

prevail against it. Could we for a moment think 
of resting upon any other foundation ? Would 
Moses have set up those boards on the shifting 
sands of the desert ? " Other foundation can no 
man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ" 
(i Cor. 3: 11). There is the foundation laid by 
God Himself, and every believer is upon it. 

This gives us at once, then, the significance of 
the boards resting upon their sockets. For what- 
ever rests upon the foundation must in some 
manner refer to the believer. Our Lord needed 
no salvation, but stood before God in the perfec- 
tion of His own person and character. These 
boards then set forth His people who form the 
habitation of God in this world. Let us look at 
them. 

The ten cubits in height, as already seen in the 
ten gerahs of the ransom money, speak of full 
responsibility; and how beautifully do these two 
fit together — a redemption price equal to the 
full demand of God's perfect law which had been 
broken by us, and an acceptance and standing in 
Christ which is equally perfect. These boards 
are standing up. The sinner may well prostrate 
himself before God in self -abhorrence : " Un- 
clean, unclean; " " God be merciful to me a sin- 
ner " (Luke 18: 13), is all he can say. But what 
a change for the believer; his leprosy is cleansed, 
his sins are forgiven, and now he stands upon 
the solid foundation of God's own providing, con- 



The sockets and the boards 187 

fessing it is all the merits of Christ in whom he is 
made to stand. There is no boasting of self, but 
in Christ Jesus is our all.* 

This perfectly explains what would otherwise 
be an insurmountable difficulty. The materials 
of the board speak, as we said, of the two na- 
tures of our Lord — His humanity and His deity, 
united in His one Person. But some one will 
say, Is it not thoroughly unscriptural and blas- 
phemous to speak of our being in Christ's deity, 
suggested by the gold ? If it were only the 
acacia wood it might represent His people, but 
how can they be said to be in the deity ? 

This would indeed be blasphemy. But we 
must remember that while the link with us is 
His human nature, through death, yet He is but 
one person, and all that He is is for His people. 
The Last Adam is also the Son of God, and all 
who are partakers of life in Him are in Him ac- 
cording to the full value of what He is. 

*The word "stand" is one of frequent occurrence both in 
the Old and New Testaments. Its meaning is obvious : to be 
upright, to abide. It is used to describe the attitude of one 
who has acces> before God (Gen 19 : 27 ; 1 Sam. 6 : 20 ; Luke 1 ; 
19, etc ). It is also used of standing before the enemy (Josh, 
23 : 9) . Abiding, permanency, is also conveyed in the word, 
as in psalm 119 : 89, 91; Prov. 19 : 21. 

In the New Testament the word also means a standing before 
God, or the maintenance of an abiding Christian position. Most 
fittingly then are the boards spoken of as standing. " Yea, he 
shall be holden up, for God is able to make him stand ' ' (Rom. 
14 : 4). 



188 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

A passage from the second chapter of Colos- 
sians may make this clear : "As ye have there- 
fore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye 
in Him . . . For in Him dwelleth all the fulness 
of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in 
Him, who is the Head of all principality and 
power" (vers. 6-10). In Him, in whom dwells 
all the fulness of the Godhead bodily, we are 
complete, or filled up. No one who knows God 
could think for a moment of the creature being 
in Him as partaking of deity. But the value of 
the person to whom we are united is divine ; and 
here again is seen the amazing character of that 
grace which stooped so low to lift poor rebels out 
of their lost condition and make them "heirs of 
God and joint heirs with Christ" (Rom. 8: 17). 
In 2 Cor. 5: 21 also we have, "For He hath made 
Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we 
might be made the righteousness of God in Him. " 
A divine standing in righteousness is ours who 
believe. Divine righteousness is so perfectly 
glorified in Christ, that it finds nothing in our 
acceptance unsuited to it. 

The apostle John, speaking of relationship in 
the family of God by divine life, says, " As He is, 
so are we in this world" (1 Jno. 4: 17). And how 
is He? — so are we, "accepted in the Beloved" 
(Eph. 1: 6). "We know that the Son of God is 
come, and hath given us an understanding, that 
we may know Him that is true ; and we are in 



The sockets and the boards 189 

Him that is true, even in His Son Jesus Christ. 
This is the true God and eternal life " (i Jno. 5: 
18-20). How amazing is all this ! Of course, it 
is only through the death and resurrection of our 
Lord Jesus Christ that it could be, but "This 
[One] is the true God and eternal life," and all 
that He is imparts its value to what His people 
are in Him. Thus God sees fit to set forth His 
people's standing, not only in the shittim wood 
but in Him who was both that and the gold. Thus 
we have a perfect foundation, a perfect redemp- 
tion, and a perfect standing — Christ. 

But the timid soul says, "I know both the 
work and the person of Christ are perfect, but if 
I could only be sure I had an interest in it! " This 
is divinely provided for in the boards. There 
were, not one, but two tenons on each board, 
each imbedded in its socket. The word for ten- 
on is "hand/' suggesting the hand of faith lay- 
ing hold vitally upon the finished work of Christ, 
as the tenons found a secure resting-place and 
were held fast in their sockets of silver made 
of the atonement money. 

How suggestive this is! Does the " hand " of 
faith, of felt need, reach out after God ? Here 
is the divine provision for it in the work of Christ. 
Is the sense of sin, of guilt and helplessness 
upon us? Here is the hiding-place provided in 
the love of God. The very things in us which 
show our need, are provided for in this di- 



190 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

vine work. Are we without strength ? ungodly? 
"When we were yet without strength, in due 
time Christ died for the ungodly" (Rom. 5: 6). 
Are we sinners? " Christ Jesus came into the 
world to save sinners " (1 Tim. 1 : 15). So our 
God puts the very words in our mouth, and bids 
us welcome to the shelter of the Cross, to all that 
is secured through it. The sockets are fitted for 
the tenons, and there is nothing that fits so per- 
fectly as the work of Christ and the poor needy 
sinner. Thus faith drops its hands into the place 
provided for it. 

But after the tenons have found their place 
in the sockets, they are invisible. So with the 
believer. He cannot think about his wonderful 
faith; it is not on exhibition, but is hidden in 
that upon which it rests. It is not as though the 
boards were suspended from the sockets and held 
on to them, but they are resting upon them. So 
the believer is not "clinging," nor " holding on " 
for salvation, as though all depended upon his 
strength : he is resting with his whole weight 
upon the provision in the work of our Lord Jesus. 
Thus His work, His redemption is alone before 
the soul, not the strength or weakness of the 
faith which has laid hold of Him. Faith rests on 
the bosom of redeeming love — is occupied with 
that, and not itself. The tenon would prevent 
the board from slipping off the socket ; it was not 
held simply by its weight, whence a sudden jar 



The sockets and the boards 191 

might cause it to slip off. So, too, the saint, 
through a divinely-given faith, not merely rests 
with his own weight upon Christ's work, but can 
never perish, for he is eternally united to the 
value of that work: " None shall pluck them out 
of My hand" (Jno. 10: 28). 

The two tenons and sockets would speak of 
competent testimony and of salvation, and of the 
two-fold view of redemption provided for us. 
We have already looked at the two tables of the 
law — the Godward and manward aspect of re- 
sponsibility. Both have been fully met by our 
blessed Lord on His cross. The full penalty of a 
broken law, of sin against God and against man, 
has been borne for us. We may also look at sin 
as transgression and as bondage or defilement. 
The Cross is the two-fold provision for this: re- 
demption is from the guilt and from the power of 

sin. It is 

" Of sin the double cure." 

Or we may look at sin as committed before 
conversion, and after also. What a dreadful thing 
it is that a child of God should thus fall into what 
brought our Lord Jesus to the cross! But the 
love that passeth knowledge has provided for all 
sin. Ours were all future when our Lord bore 
their penalty on the cross: all was provided for. 
May such grace soften our poor hearts and lead 
us to abhor sin and turn more fully unto our Lord. 

We might think also of redemption in it$ two- 



192 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

fold aspect, as securing the work in us a-s well as 
being the worker us. He has "condemned sin 
in the flesh," by His Cross, and He also came 
"for sin," a sin-offering (Rom. 8:3). Thus sin, 
the root, has been judged, and sins, the fruit, put 
away. 

So we can look at this precious truth in many 
ways and see its two-fold character. We can 
think of it as a present and eternal salvation; as 
pertaining to the soul and to the body; as re- 
vealed in Old and New Testaments, in type and 
fulfilment; for the Jew and the Gentile. He is 
the God of all grace, and that grace has shown 
itself in its fulness in redemption by Christ our 
Lord. 

Recurring again to the thought of testimony 
suggested by the two sockets and tenons, we are 
reminded that the full witness to all we have 
been seeing, and far more, is given in the word 
of God. Salvation depends alone upon the work 
of our Lord Jesus, but the assurance of that is 
given through the word of God. Thus we can 
never separate the work and the Word. Wher- 
ever this is done, it will be found that both are 
denied. Those who question the truth of Scrip- 
ture, its authenticity, its inerrancy and divine 
perfection — all that unbelief which goes under 
the pretentious name of " Higher Criticism " — 
will be found to think lightly of the Cross of 
Christ and the results of that work. 



The sockets and the boards 193 

Before leaving the boards, looked at individu- 
ally, we may inquire as to the significance of the 
breadth, one and a half* cubits. Three being the 
number of divine glory, it has been suggested 
that it points to the fact that man has "come 
short " of that glory. But we must remember it 
is not man in his natural state of guilt that the 



*The word "half," from a root meaning to cut, or cut in two, 
is used with considerable frequency in the Old Testament. The 
following are the characteristic connections in which it occurs : 

1. As giving added measure, as in the dimensions of the 
boards, etc. (see Ex. 25 : 10, etc.). 

2. As showing a curtailment of time or number, as in psalm 
102 : 24, "In the midst [half] of my days." The sacrifice is 
made to cease "in the midst [half] of the week " (Dan. 9 : 27). 

3. As expressing equal division, as the blood of the covenant, 
half upon the altar and h.ilf upon the people (Ex. 24: 6). So 
Solomon proposed the division of the child (1 Kings 3 : 25, etc ). 

4. As suggesting a large proportion, "the half of the king- 
dom" (Esther 5: 3). 

5. As suggesting small proportion, with "not" — as in tht 
words of the Queen of Sheba (1 Kings 10 : 7). 

6. As suggesting, possibly, more still to follow (Num. 15: 
9, etc. >. 

There seem to be suggestions from a number of these as to 
the boards. The half is added to the width of one cubit. There 
is a character to the standing which is thus expressed. It is 
more than mere forgiveness, but fullest justification, as in the 
fifth part added to the payment of the trespass (Lev. 5 : 16). 
God is more glorified in the person and work of our Lord than 
in the mere obedience of unfallen man. 

As length or height speaks of full measure, breadth might 
suggest the character of the measure, as in the curtains, and 
this character seen in our Lord and in His people, as responding 
to the claims of God's throne. 



194 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

boards represent, but as complete in Christ, in 
whom God is perfectly glorified. Perhaps a clue 
may be found in the height and breadth of the 
ark, where we have the same dimensions (ij4 
cubits). The ark, as we shall see later on, typifies 
Christ as the One who sustains the very throne 
of God. Thus if the ten cubits in height speak of 
Christ having fully glorified God in the place of 
human responsibility, the breadth might likewise 
remind us of Him in connection with the throne 
of God. There may be instruction in the propor- 
tion between the height and the breadth, which 
is 10 to i^, or 20 to 3. This would give an in- 
finite series of 6 as the expression of the rela- 
tion — unending and eternal victory in Christ — 
blessed truth indeed, whether or no we are fully 
justified in gathering it from these numbers. 
Lastly, this half may possibly suggest ' 'the whole" 
is yet to follow, in eternity. This seems to be 
the thought in the drink-offerings connected with 
the burnt-offerings (Num. 28: 14). A fraction of 
a hin of wine was poured out, increasing from 
the fourth part of the hin for a lamb to a half hin 
for a bullock. The higher the apprehension of 
Christ the fuller the joy; but at best we must 
say with the Queen of Sheba, The half has not 
been told (2 Chron. 9: 6). 

We may also see the effect of this half cubit 
upon the length and width of the tabernacle. 
Had the boards been but one cubit broad, it would 



The sockets and the boards 195 

have been but twenty cubits long, and, perhaps, 
but seven broad. But instead of this the taber- 
nacle was thirty cubits long — divine glory mani- 
fested in full responsibility, and that responsibil- 
ity again seen in the ten cubits of breadth. In 
the temple these dimensions were doubled, which 
would confirm the thought that in the day of 
glory — for Israel millennial, for the Church 
heaven — the full measure of God's thoughts of 
His people in Christ will be manifest. 

We pass now from that which speaks of the 
individual believer and the perfection of his 
standing in Christ to his corporate relations. 
Each board had a perfectly secure foundation 
apart from its connection with the other boards, 
as the individual believer's security does not de- 
pend upon his fellow-Christians, but upon Christ's 
work alone. But this gives no thought of a dwell- 
ing-place for God ; but God's purpose is to build 
them together for His habitation. 

At this very point we see that selfishness in our 
hearts, which is one great proof of our fallen na- 
ture. We think of our own salvation and security 
rather than of God's glory and His habitation; 
so there is often little exercise as to His abode 
on earth. But the same scripture which tells us 
we are builded upon the foundation, also declares 
that we are "builded together for an habitation 
of God through the Spirit" (Eph. 2: 20-22), The 



196 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

fact that each board in the tabernacle was pre- 
pared with a distinct purpose for its place in the 
building, shows that God, by the Spirit, has a 
distinct purpose to place each believer where he 
belongs in the house of God. Nor does this re- 
fer merely to its full display in glory, but to the 
present time, while He leaves us in this wilder- 
ness world. 

This is learned in the rings, of which, as we have 
already seen, there were probably three upon each 
board through which the bars were to pass, thus 
uniting them all together. No board was com- 
plete until it had these rings upon it, and they 
plainly declared that no board was for itself, but 
had a connection with all the others. The rings 
(a complete circle) would remind us of the eter- 
nal link between the believer and Christ: the 
bars being passed through the rings could 
in no way be loosed from them. "Who shall 
separate us from the love of Christ ? " The gold 
of these rings speaks of the divine character of 
this tie — born, not of blood, nor of man's, nor of 
flesh's will, but of God. And the three rings 
would speak of the full manifestation of God in 
this blessed union. The three persons of the 
Godhead are engaged and pledged in it — the 
Father sent His Son, has accepted His work, 
and fully justifies the believer; the Son has per- 
fectly accomplished redemption, and the Spirit 
has not only regenerated each believer, but has 



The sockets and the boards 197 

sealed him, as belonging to God until the day of 
redemption (Eph. i : 13). The work of the Spirit 
is further shown in His baptism of all believers 
into one body (1 Cor. 12: 13). So the rings de- 
clare plainly that each believer is forever and by 
a divine work linked with his blessed Saviour 
and Lord, and thus to all his fellow-believers. 

We have already had the intimation of the 
meaning of the bars. Their material — acacia 
wood overlaid with gold — shows us the divine 
and human nature of our Lord. Five bars would 
also give us the number of the incarnate Son, as 
well as reminding us that full responsibility to- 
ward God in everything is met by Him. Five is 
composed of four and one, the numbers that 
speak of the creature in union with One, the 
Creator. The central bar extending from end to 
end would suggest the deity of our Lord, while 
the four others might well remind us of His hu- 
manity. Thus again and again are these precious 
facts brought before us. 

Christ then, in the fulness of His person, unites 
His people together. The boards were placed 
upon their sockets, side by side, in alignment ; then 
it was an easy matter to pass the bars through 
all the rings and form a complete wall for the 
house of God. According to God's mind and pur- 
pose, believers are "builded together," and set 
in the body, so that their union with Christ is 
also union with one another. Thus it was at Pen- 



198 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

tecost. One day it will be displayed in all its 
perfection. Faith is to exhibit this unity in a 
practical way, and this involves exercise and re- 
sponsibility. Alas, the results of failure here 
are only too manifest even to the eye of the world. 

If then our Lord's prayer for unity is to be 
seen even here, it must be along the lines sug- 
gested by what we have been learning. Every 
believer, a divinely - prepared board, resting 
upon the finished work of Christ, is to recognize 
his union with his Lord and Saviour so fully 
that there is no hindrance to His will and way 
being accomplished in him. This will bring him 
in alignment with all who are likewise subject to 
Christ, and a "tabernacle of witness" will be 
the result — a witness to the world as our Lord 
said, " That the world may believe that Thou hast 
sent Me" (Jno. 17: 21). Do we not seem to see 
the golden rings in that verse? — " As Thou, Fa- 
ther, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also 
may be one in Us." 

And how many errors as to the house of God 
on earth do these holy truths correct; and what 
shame and confusion of face should they produce 
in us, and what exercise of conscience and search- 
ing of heart. We hear of persons "joining the 
Church ; " here we are first of all reminded that 
there is no room for empty profession ; none but 
golden-covered boards, resting on silver founda- 
tions. None but those who are born again, and 



The sockets and the boards 199 

so "in Christ," shown by their resting upon His 
precious blood, our redemption, can find a place 
in this building of God. Even true Christians 
speak of "the church of their choice/' and of 
joining it; not knowing that there is but one 
Church, one habitation of God, His building, or 
the Church to which He joins. Nothing is left 
for human will ; all is provided for in God's word. 
The golden rings proclaim that all must be ac- 
cording to divine order, as revealed in His Word. 
Could we imagine Moses selecting a few boards 
and building a small tabernacle in one place, and 
Aaron doing the same in another, and Eleazar 
and Ithamar, Joshua and Caleb, repeating this ? 
What a travesty each would have been upon 
God's plan! What would it have mattered if each 
had loudly claimed special recognition for his 
own little tabernacle ? Nay, each one of these 
men of God would have said, Who are we, that 
you should rend the house of God asunder to 
provide a place for us ? So God rebuked the 
thought of Peter to make three tabernacles — 
"One for Thee, one for Moses, and one for 
Elias" (Matt. 17: 4). There was but One whom 
they should thus honor; He alone the Centre of 
His people: "This is My beloved Son, hear ye 
Him." And if it be thought impossible that any 
man should thus be made a centre for division 
where God intends unity, we need only read the 
first chapter of 1st Corinthians: " Every one of 



200 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

you saith, I am of Paul ; and I of Apollos ; and I 
of Cephas; and I of Christ," which the apostle 
rebukes by: "Is Christ divided ? was Paul cruci- 
fied for you ? or were you baptized in the name 
of Paul ? " 

Let us not then defend the sad failure of the 
whole Church of God, which has established var- 
ious divisions and defends them as right and 
good. If so, where is the testimony to the unity 
of God's house ? What thinks the world of all this? 

But let us go deeper than the outward testi- 
mony and ask, What state of heart has made all this 
division possible ? Has not profession been given 
a place which has mixed together the true and 
the false ? Are there not many claiming to be 
"boards" who have no divinely-given marks 
of being so ? No " rings," no solid foundation ? 
And how much insubjection to the word of God 
on the part of true believers also ; how little is 
the Lord given His true place of lordship in 
heart and practice! It may be some doctrine, 
scriptural and true, perhaps, but given a place of 
undue prominence, and "the simplicity that is in 
Christ" has been clouded. Or, it may be, well- 
meant but humanly-devised provisions for order, 
ministry, etc., have been adopted; or the appar- 
ently harmless adoption of a denominational 
name has displaced the one only Name which 
we should confess, and to which His people are 
to gather (Matt. 18: 20). 



The sockets and the boards 201 

And these things are no trifles. The apostle 
asked, where these things existed in their germ 
only, "Are ye not carnal, and walk as men?" 1 
(i Cor. 3: 3), that is, as men of the world. Alas, 
such a hint scarcely touches the conscience of the 
mass who have professed to be as a ' * chaste vir- 
gin espoused to Christ." But to the soul truly 
loyal to Him, constrained by His love, devoted 
to His fear, such a question would bring the 
blush of shame. "They are not of the world 
even as I am not of the world," said the Holy 
and the True. Can it be then a trifle in His eyes 
when His people walk as men of the world ? 

Oh for hearts to mourn over the ruin that has 
come in through our own folly ! No place be- 
comes us but that of true humiliation before 
Him. He still has, and ever will have, respect 
unto the lowly. Then, even though the boards 
be dispersed in the wilderness, He will have a 
word to say to the "afflicted and poor people " 
(Zeph. 3:12), even as to His testimony, which 
will comfort without filling with pride. 

But returning from the confession of our com- 
mon failure to the plan and purpose of God, let 
us examine a little more closely the passage al- 
ready partly quoted from 1 Corinthians T2: "As 
the body is one, and hath many members, and all 
the members of that one body, being many, are 
one body : so also is Christ. For by one Spirit 
are we all baptized into one body," etc. (vers. 12, 



202 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

13). Here we have the individuality of each be- 
liever preserved: "many members," yet but 
" one body." There were twenty boards on 
each side, north and south; six at the west end, 
and one at each corner, making forty-eight boards 
in all. These would suggest the "many mem- 
bers " of the body of Christ. The factors of forty- 
eight are 6 *. 8, in which six is the number of 
limitation of and victory over evil, and eight 
(7 4- 1), the familiar number of new creation. 
God has by the Cross put a limit upon the world 
and man's day; it is going to end, however much 
the riches of divine patience are exercised toward 
it. But in amazing love, apart from human 
righteousness, God has, in the very cross which 
has declared the judgment of this world, gained 
the victory over evil. Christ has " spoiled prin- 
cipalities and powers," and " made a show of 
them openly, triumphing over them in it" (Col. 
2:15), that is, in the cross. This victory is in 
perfect grace "to every one that believeth" 
(Rom. 1: 16), so that now upon the ruins of the 
old creation, and independent of it, He has intro- 
duced the new creation: "If any man be in 
Christ, there is new creation" (2 Cor. 5 : 17). 
And this is the other factor, the companion to 
the victory over evil ; the two taken together 
give the "new man, which after God is created 
in righteousness and holiness of truth " (Eph. 4: 
24). All this is seen in its perfection in Christ 



The sockets and the boards 203 

alone, until the day when He shall display His 
redeemed in the glory He has given them. Till 
then faith is ever occupied with Him, never with 
ourselves. It is of " the man in Christ" that we 
can glory and not in ourselves (2 Cor. 12: 2, 5). 
The golden boards ever speak of Him, but, 
through divine grace, His people are "in Him," 
and thus are made "the righteousness of God." 

But let it be remembered that for the full dis- 
play of this victory over evil in new creation, 
every board is needed; forty-seven boards would 
tell us nothing of it. So our God has made it 
impossible for one to be wanting in His sight. 
Notice how the apostle speaks of this "one body" 
— "So also is Christ." He does not say, "the 
body of Christ." This brings out the golden 
boards again. So, when Saul of Tarsus was per- 
secuting the saints, our blessed Lord from the 
glory asked, "Why persecutest thou Me" (Acts 
9:4)? Saul was persecuting Christ — so com- 
pletely He identifies His people with Himself. 
This then is " the Christ " — His people in Him, 
and He the Head. This is effected by no human 
agency, but by the Holy Spirit who baptizes all 
believers into this one body, this habitation of 
God. 

We can see the Spirit's work in thus uniting 
believers to Christ and to each other, suggested 
by the rings and bars, in the unity and fellow- 
ship of believers at Pentecost. Saints might be 



204 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

persecuted and imprisoned, but " being let go, 
they went to their own company " (Acts 4: 23). 
"Ye are taught of God to love one another " 
(1 Thess. 4: 9). " Holding the Head, from which 
all the body by joints and bands having nourish- 
ment ministered, and knit together, increaseth 
with the increase of God" (Col. 2 : 19). These 
and many other precious scriptures dwell upon 
the practical unity and fellowship of believers, 
the only standard for which is the perfect mind 
of God, displayed in what we have been, feebly 
enough, dwelling upon. 

What special lessons are we to gather from the 
corner boards ? They are, like all the others, to 
rest upon silver sockets, and therefore would 
speak of believers. But this position at the cor- 
ners would suggest some other thoughts of im- 
portance. Next to the foundation, the corner is 
the most important part of a house. So our Lord 
is spoken of in the same verse as "a precious 
corner-stone" and "a sure foundation " (Isa. 28: 
16). He is the " Head of the corner " (Matt. 21 : 
42), though rejected by His earthly people. It 
is at the corner that special care must be taken 
to bind the walls together, that there be no part- 
ing and making a rent. Christ has done this, so 
far as the eternal display in glory is concerned, 
but God has also made divine provision for it in a 
practical way, illustrated in these corner boards. 

There may be architectural details which we 



The sockets and the boards 205 

could not fully represent in a model. But certain 
features are clear. "And they were coupled 
(twinned) beneath, and coupled together at the 
head thereof, to one ring: thus he did to both of 
them in both the corners " (Ex. 36: 29). Another 
version renders it, "And they were twain below; 
but they were whole together toward its head in 
the one ring " (Num. Bible). The evident thought 
is that what might naturally be two, and thus 
divided, is " fitly joined together" (Eph. 4: 16). 
A distinction is made between the bottom and 
top of these corner boards. They were twain be- 
low; or, even if "twinned" be the better read- 
ing, the thought of distinction from the adjacent 
boards is suggested. This is at the base, near 
the silver sockets. May not this emphasize the 
individuality of each believer ? No matter what 
position he may have in the house of God — even 
though it be of the greatest importance, and in 
closest conjunction with others — he rests for him- 
self upon the work of Christ. " If any man trust 
to himself that he is Christ's, let him of himself 
think this again, that, as he is Christ's, even so 
are we Christ's" (2 Cor. 10 : 7). These are the 
words of an apostle, a most important "corner" 
surely, but he does not boast of his apostleship; 
his place in the house of God is first of all by re- 
demption; whatever of service he may have ren- 
dered to the saints, and thus to the Lord, he 
glories in the "man in Christ." So also Peter 



206 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

writes "to them that have obtained like pre- 
cious faith with us " (2 Pet. 1:1); and in the 
Acts classes himself with all believers, Jew and 
Gentile alike: "We believe that through the 
grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, 
even as they " (Acts 15: 11). And so with John 
and all the writers of the New Testament: their 
official position made them not one whit different 
from the simplest saint; all alike rested upon the 
precious redemption price. So the w r ondrous 
truths which they ministered to us were the food 
and stay of their own souls. 

And so it is with all true believers: gifts, ser- 
vice, miracles, can never interfere with this 
basic fact, that they rest for themselves alone 
upon Christ and His work. That distinguishes 
between those most closely united, whether in 
the family or in that which professes to be the 
house of God. Without that resting-place one 
might preach the gospel to others and yet be a 
castaway (1 Cor. 9: 27). Paul was in no uncer- 
tainty as to his present and eternal security, for 
he knew whom he had believed; he did not base 
one shred of his soul's salvation upon his apostle- 
ship and ministry: as our Lord said to His dis- 
ciples, when they rejoiced that they could cast 
out demons, "Rather rejoice, because your names 
are written in heaven" (Luke 10: 20). In the 
matter of our soul's eternal salvation, we neither 
need nor can have any other resting-place than 



The sockets and the boards 207 

the foundation that is laid, " which is Jesus 
Christ" (i Cor. 3: 11). 

But while at the base the boards are thus dis- 
tinct, at the head or top they are firmly joined to 
the others — on each side — " in one ring." This is 
a divine bond at just the point where it is needed. 
The sockets would hold them together at the 
base — no danger of a true believer being moved 
away from the work of Christ; but there is a 
danger of his drawing away from his true place 
with the people of God, " at the head." He may 
become puffed up, " heady," and so instead of a 
flawless union, there may be a yawning crevice 
at a crucial point. Here is where divine love 
encircles the saints and holds them fast in its 
eternal embrace ; and where this is entered into 
fully, the " corners " and places of natural weak- 
ness, become special points of strength. 

What makes corners naturally a place of weak- 
ness is that the direction of the wall being there 
changed a strain is felt, upon the upper part 
especially. We can easily apply this to the house 
of God, and see the importance both of the silver 
sockets below and of the ring above. 

There were several such turning points in the 
book of Acts. A murmuring — a cleavage — arose 
of the Grecians (the foreign Jews) against the 
Hebrews (those of Palestine) u because their 
widows were neglected in the daily ministration " 
(Acts 6:1). Here was an apparent divergence 



208 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

of interests, and the Spirit of God, through the 
apostles, corrected the trouble at once. All these 
saints were upon the silver sockets, but the " cor- 
ners " were weak, from the natural jealousy and 
selfishness of the human heart, particularly noti- 
ceable among the Jews. There was need of rings 
for the corner boards. So, divinely-designated 
men are set over the whole matter of tempo- 
ral care. From their names it would seem they 
were all foreign Jews — the very class from which 
the complaint had come ; and they embraced in 
the ring of divine love and care — for they were 
"full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom" (verse 3) 
— every needy saint, whether foreign or home- 
born. Thus the threatened trouble was averted. 
Does it seem extravagant to say that special 
strength came from this, as seen in Stephen's 
blessed testimony and martyrdom (chap. 7) ? * 

*This acquisition of special strength, at the right moment, is 
seen in the separating character of Stephen's testimony. From 
the beginning of the history, God's way with His believing 
people was shown to be of a separating character. Abraham 
was called from home and country ; Joseph and Moses were 
separated from their brethren — the mass of the nation had 
always resisted the Holy Ghost. Thus God's company had 
from the beginning always been a remnant. Saints, united 
with Christ who had been rejected and crucified by the 
nation and its leaders, were manifestly a separate people. 
The very martyrdom of Stephen but illustrated this, and pre- 
pared them for the general persecution which ensued. When 
this had done its work, a corner had been turned : historical 
Judaism was manifested as essentially hostile to true Chris- 



The sockets and the boards 209 

But a more serious schism threatened the unity 
of the testimony which God was establishing, 
and that of which we have just spoken was but 
a premonition of it. The Church is composed of 
both Jew and Gentile by nature, but none in it are 
either Jew or Gentile, for all are "in Christ" 
(Eph. 2: 14; Col. 3 : 11). But what divine care 
was needed that, as this truth was acted upon, 
there should be no violence done to weak and 
unestablished consciences. When the gospel was 
carried down to Samaria — and it is noteworthy 
that this was done by Philip, one of the seven 
already mentioned — there was a fresh departure, 
a " corner" was made. But how careful the 
Spirit is to guard against schism. "The Jews 
have no dealings with the Samaritans" (Jno. 4: 
9). But here were precious souls saved through 
faith in Christ; the " boards " were upon the sil- 
ver sockets. At Jerusalem, the Holy Spirit had 
been given to all believers in the Lord Jesus, 
but the Samaritans had received no such public 
seal as yet. That blessing comes through the 
apostles Peter and John, who come down from 
Jerusalem and lay their hands upon them. Thus 
the "ring" is put around both, and saints at Je- 
rusalem, Jews by nature, and Samaritans, are 

tianity, and their paths had divided ; the former, to their in- 
evitable scattering and the blotting out of their name and place; 
and the latter, onward toward the fulfilment of the world- 
wide purpose of God's grace. 



210 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

held fast in the eternal bond of the Spirit's seal 
and baptism (Acts 8: 1-17). 

The same is seen then in a farther step. The 
Spirit of God was leading onward in an entirely 
different path from what had hitherto been taken. 
44 Salvation is of the Jews" (Jno. 4 : 22), but it 
was to be carried now to the ends of the earth. 
So Cornelius, a Gentile, awakened by God to 
the desire of the full blessing flowing forth, is 
brought to the knowledge of forgiveness through 
the name of the Lord Jesus. But we see again 
the Spirit of God putting on the "ring." It is 
Peter, the apostle of the circumcision, who is 
seen as a corner board linking what might other- 
wise be apart. How beautifully he shows the 
"ring" of divine love when questioned by the 
saints in Jerusalem: " Forasmuch then as God 
gave them the like gift as He did unto us who 
believed on the Lord Tesus Christ, what was I 
that I could withstand God?" (Acts 11: 17). 

Likewise in the great crisis of Acts 15. In 
spite of all that God had so plainly shown, the 
reactionary spirit of Judaism was asserting itself; 
and even after a mighty wave of blessing had 
swept in multitudes of Gentiles from many quar- 
ters, and where assemblies largely composed of 
Gentiles had been established, there were those 
who taught that these "must be circumcised and 
keep the law." How easy would it have been for 
Paul at that point to have completety severed his 



The sockets and the boards 211 

connection with Jewish Christians, and devote 
himself to the beloved Gentile flock. A rash act, 
a few hasty words, and Jerusalem would have 
been left, and the words, so unrighteously used 
by the ten tribes, could have been adapted : 
4 * What portion have we in David ? neither have 
we inheritance in the son of Jesse . . . now see 
to thine own house, David " (i Kings 12: 16). 

But the Spirit of God was guiding, and at the 
turning of this " corner " the strong " ring " held 
fast the beloved Jewish and Gentile saints to- 
gether in divine fellowship. They go to Je- 
rusalem, from whence these troublers of the 
Gentiles had come. There, assembled together 
concerning this matter, Peter recounts what God 
had done through him in bringing in the Gen- 
tiles, alluding also to the intolerable yoke 
of the law. Barnabas and Paul then recount 
the wonderful works of divine grace among the 
Gentiles; and James puts the " ring "of Scrip- 
ture to bind all fast. The letter of love was sent 
out, and for saints who bowed to God's truth the 
question could never again be raised. A breach 
was averted. In fact the " corner " in that way 
becomes a point of strength, holding both lines 
of truth fast, and the clasped hands of Peter and 
Paul show how freely the gospel was to go forth. 
Peter can write of "our beloved brother Paul" 
(2 Pet. 3: 15), and though Paul may rebuke Peter 
for his inconsistency (Gal. 2), it is in the knowl- 



212 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

edge that the conscience of the beloved apostle 
of the circumcision was with the truth. 

Thus were all united. Alas, when faith waned, 
and the guidance of the Spirit was no longer 
yielded to, as by the apostles, we see, by the later 
epistles, there was a drifting back toward Juda- 
ism and the very foundations were denied. Then 
it was no longer Christian love to hold fast to 
Judaism. Christ was openly rejected again, and 
the word for His own was : " Let us go forth 
unto Him without the camp, bearing His re- 
proach" (Heb. 13: 13). 

Enough has been said to indicate the impor- 
tance of these corner boards. Application can 
surely be made all through the history of the 
Lord's people, in the Church at large, and in 
remnant days too, among the saints in an assem- 
bly, or among all such as are seeking to hold and 
act upon the truth of the house of God. There 
are times of special stress and danger when 
the Spirit of God may be leading out into fuller 
truth. It is easier to hold back and walk only in 
the beaten paths, but this quenches the Spirit 
and hinders true progress, which also means the 
loss of what is already held. Progress is a divine 
law ; "not as though I had already attained, either 
were already perfect " (Phil. 3: 12). Howneedful 
then are the lessons we have been learning. Even 
truth unduly pressed, to the ignoring of other 
truth, may wound weak consciences, and be used 



The sockets and the boards 213 

of the enemy to make a breach when there should 
be unity. Let us note what we have learned: 

First of all, the great foundation fact of re- 
demption by the work of Christ, and all other fun- 
damental truths, must be fully owned. Secondly, 
the great principle of the holiness of the house 
of God must be bowed to — the headship and 
authority of Christ our Lord. If these are not 
recognized and obeyed there can be no testimony. 
But when these are recognized and owned to be 
of God, there is fullest room for the exercise of 
forbearance and of the love which knits the peo- 
ple of God together. We may well take the in- 
stances we have been looking at as our models 
and learn from them to apply the " ring " at the 
proper place. 

But let us ever remember the solemn truth 
that it is the house of God we are dealing with, 
not a building of man, therefore no unity but the 
unity of the Spirit is to be kept. Rome has made 
outward unity her object, and has therefore put 
her rings — unholy ones indeed — about anything 
and everything, to call it her own. Verily, <4 Baby- 
lon the great " has been stamped upon her fore- 
head ; she has become the * ' cage of every unclean 
and hateful bird " (Rev. 18: 2). Nor is professing 
Protestantism far behind when, for the sake of a 
falsely-called peace, divine truth is sacrificed, 
and everything calling itself by the name of 
Christian is allowed a place. We are living in 



214 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

days of " broad-minded liberalism/' when men 
who deny the inspiration of the word of God, the 
eternal destinies of men, and even the deity of 
our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ are tolerated, 
welcomed and followed. What awful mockery is 
it to call such indifference by the holy name of 
"love." Is it love to despise Christ, to dishonor 
and disobey Him ? 

For many, the last-mentioned things may seem 
so glaring as to be needless. Let us be reminded 
then that the same principles may lurk under a 
very pleasing exterior. The sin of disobedience, 
which is the root of all sin, has many forms. 
The only way of safety is to hold fast the faith- 
ful Word. And in the matter of which we are 
speaking, it must ever be remembered that what 
is subversive of the very testimony which God 
would have cannot under any plea be allowed. 

But, within these limits, what room there is 
for the exercise of love that all may be "fitly 
joined together." The weak need to be com- 
forted, the feeble-minded, or those of little 
courage, need to be sustained, as well as the un- 
ruly to be admonished. What an honor it is in 
any sense to be privileged to be a "corner- 
board " — not filling a large place, but in just the 
place where God would have us, and furnishing 
the opportunity for the "ring" of divine love 
and truth to extend from us to our brethren on 
either hand. 



The sockets and the boards 215 

A word remains as to the sockets. There were 
one hundred of them in all, 10 x 10 (Ex. 38: 27), 
of one talent each, made of the redemption 
money of ten gerahs for each man. The word 
for " talent " is kikkar — a circle or globe, so call- 
ed perhaps from its being a complete or rounded- 
out sum. From Exodus 38 : 25, 26, it was equal 
to 3000 shekels, or 6000 bekahs. The factors of 
ten are here so prominent that the great founda- 
tion fact of responsibility is emphasized — a re- 
sponsibility in which we have utterly failed, but 
which our Lord has fully met on the cross and 
glorified God thereby. Resting securely on that 
foundation, the believer looks forward to that 
eternal day with joy and praise; and meanwhile, 
though treading the wilderness land, learns to 
answer in some little measure to the grace that 
has saved him, and to meet responsibilities 
which once he ignored. 



LECTURE X 

The Veil and the Entrance Hanging 



Ex. 36 : 35-38) 



FOLLOWING the order in which the taber- 
nacle was constructed, we come now to the 
veil and the hanging at the door of the taber- 
nacle, and the pillars from which these were sus- 
pended. 

The inner veil separated the tabernacle into 
two rooms, the holy and the most holy place 
(Ex. 26 : 33). The inner sanctuary was pecu- 
liarly sacred, as it contained the ark and mercy- 
seat whereon God's glory manifested itself and 
where He met with Moses (Ex. 25 : 22). The 
veil which hung before this holiest of all earthly 
places was therefore of special importance. It 
was made of the same materials as the ten beauti- 
ful curtains — blue, purple, scarlet and fine twined 
linen, with cherubim; but for some reason the 
blue is mentioned first, instead of the fine linen, 
which may suggest that as the cherubim for the 
curtains were embroidered upon a groundwork 
of white linen, those for the veil were put upon 
a ground of blue, and the remaining colors were 
used in forming the figures. 

There were four pillars of shittim wood over- 



The veil and the entrance 217 

laid with gold, each resting upon one socket of 
silver; their hooks were of gold, and from these 
the veil was suspended.* It seems that the veil 
was hung up directly under the golden clasps 
which united the two sets of curtains (chap. 26: 
33). This shows a close connection at least be- 
tween the veil and the clasps, of which we have 
spoken in pages 84 and 93. 

Having previously spoken at length of the ma- 
terials, we shall only take a brief review of them 
here. 

Blue is the heavenly color, and speaks of that 
character of our Lord: " The first man is of the 
earth, earthy; the Second Man is the Lord from 
heaven" (1 Cor. 15 : 47). Even in his unfallen 
state man's place of abode was the earth, he 
knew nothing else; and after the fall, "Dust 
thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return " (Gen. 
3 : 1.9) was the sentence upon him as morally 
away from God. Our Lord belonged to heaven: 

*The word for veil is paroketh, from a root meaning " to sep- 
arate. ' ' 

Several characteristic uses of the veil, as separating, are seen 
in the following passages : "The veil shall divide unto you be- 
tween the holy place and the most holy " (Ex. 26 : 33) ; "Within 
the veil" (Ex. 26 : 33); " Without the veil" (Ex. 26 : 35) ; 
"Before the veil" (Ex. 40 : 26). 

From these passages and others we gather that the veil formed 
the sanctuary, or holiest, a secret chamber for the ark. The 
veil was therefore said to be a covering for the ark. 

The pillars and sockets also belonged to the veil ; hence the 
expression, 'the sockets of the veil." 



218 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

He was ever and only perfectly in accord with 
the mind of heaven, and from the fact that He 
came down from heaven, He absolutely belonged 
there. Though His perfect humanity was born 
upon earth, the stamp of a heavenly nature and 
a heavenly destiny was upon it. This is the 
blue, set forth in John. 

Purple is the royal color that speaks of Him as 
King of Israel. He was the true Son of David, 
who should sit upon his throne. He was the 
Messiah, the King anointed with the "holy oil," 
the Holy Spirit, thus set apart to the throne for 
God's glory and the blessing of His people. His 
title they put upon the cross — where they cruci- 
fied Him. " We have no king but Caesar," they 
shouted, and they have felt the crushing heel of 
Caesar ever since. The purple is the theme of 
Matthew, the Gospel of the kingdom. 

Scarlet speaks of a wider glory than the purple, 
reaching out to the world, when all the nations 
of the earth shall be subject to Him who is King 
of kings and Lord of lords. But its red color re- 
minds us that the glory of the world was won at 
the cost of His precious blood. Every delegated 
glory and every blessing that will come to the 
world will be seen to be the fruit of His atone- 
ment for reconciliation to God. The Gospel of 
Mark dwells upon this. 

The White of the fine twined linen tells us of 
the sinless purity of "the Man Christ Jesus/' in 



The veil and the entrance 219 

all His life and inward thoughts and desires. 
The eye of God, who is light, could rest upon 
that Holy One, and find every ray of His holy, 
perfect Being reflected in this lowly Son of Man. 
The Gospel of Luke brings this into beautiful 
prominence. 

These four colors were blended together " with 
cunning work," and they tell us of the four-fold 
character of our holy Lord blended together in 
the Gospel narratives by the "cunning work- 
manship" of the divine Workman, the Holy Spirit. 
A passage of Scripture (Heb. 10: 19, 20) would 
dispel all doubt as to the significance of the veil, 
as well as of the colors: "Having therefore, 
brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by 
the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, 
which He hath consecrated for us, through the 
veil, that is to say, His flesh." This has all the 
conciseness of a definition — the veil is His flesh 
— Christ as incarnate, as He was here, manifest 
in the flesh. 

This veil hung from the golden hooks upon 
the four pillars of acacia wood overlaid with gold 
and resting upon the silver sockets. We have 
already learned the meaning of these various 
materials: the gold is a symbol of divine glory 
and nature, and thus of our Lord's deity; while 
the acacia wood tells of His unique humanity, and 
the silver sockets of redemption. The fact that 
these four pillars rest upon silver shows us that, 



220 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

like the boards, they speak of Christ's people as 
seen in Him.* 

But how can the people of God in any sense 
be represented in His house as holding up Christ ? 
It can only be perfect grace that will put them 
into such a place of unspeakable and transcen- 
dent privilege. But looking at the house of God 
in its final state, His eternal abode, does not our 
Lord promise that, "Him that overcometh will 
I make a pillar in the temple of My God, and 
he shall go no more out" (Rev. 3 : 12)? And 
what will be the heavenly and eternal occupation 
of the redeemed but to hold up in praise and ador- 
ation the perfections of their Saviour and Lord ? 

The tabernacle, however, was distinctively 
God's abode in the wilderness, and it is as con- 
nected with this place of pilgrim-separation, 
testimony and responsibility, that the believer is 
seen in connection with the person of the Lord, 
just as we learned in connection with the boards: 
"That thou mayest know how thou oughtest to 
behave thyself in the house of God, which is the 
Church of the living God, the pillar and ground (or 
support) of the truth. And without controversy, 

*The word for "pillar " is ammudh, from the root meaning 
to "stand," at which we looked when learning the signifi- 
cance of the boards. It is thus a repetition of the thought 
there given, emphasized in the very name. The value of the 
person and work of our Lord Jesus is such that His people 
have a perfect "standing" before God, not only as to accept- 
ance, but as to testimony in the house of God. 



The veil and the entrance 221 

great is the mystery of godliness: God was man- 
fest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of 
angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on 
in the world, received up into glory" (i Tim. 3: 
15, 16). In this wonderful scripture we have 
two great facts presented to us, which we may 
call the casket and the jewel which the casket 
contains. The apostle is showing Timothy, in 
this epistle of assembly order, how he should 
conduct himself in the house of God. As we 
have already seen, the boards form the house of 
God; believers resting upon the redemption of 
Christ and complete in Him, are "builded to- 
gether as an habitation of God through the Spirit " 
(Eph. 2: 22). That is what "the Church of the 
living God " is. We have a similar thought, as 
showing the house of God, in 1 Peter: "To 
whom coming, as unto a living Stone, disallowed 
indeed of men, but chosen of God and precious, 
ye also as living stones are built up a spiritual 
house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual 
sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ" 
(chap. 2:4, 5). While the primary reference 
here may be to the temple, the thought is simi- 
lar: there is a living Stone at the foundation; 
living stones are built upon Him to be a living 
house for the living God. Nothing but life can 
suit the living God. Therefore those who are 
truly His are born again; they have a life which 
is from God, eternal life, never to perish. This 



222 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

then is the characteristic of the Church of the 
living God. 

But the next expression is a remarkable one : 
"The pillar and ground (or support) of the 
truth." The Church is left in the world to up- 
hold the truth of God, to exhibit it. After His 
resurrection our Lord gives His disciples assured 
peace first, showing them His hands and His 
side — the reminder of His death, the proof of 
His atoning work. This is the silver sockets. 
Then He says: "As My Father hath sent Me, 
even so send I you. And when He had said this 
He breathed on them, and saith unto them, Re- 
ceive ye the Holy Ghost : whosesoever sins ye 
remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose- 
soever sins ye retain, they are retained " (Jno. 
20 : 19-23). He had spoken of them previously 
as His "brethren," and had said, " I ascend unto 
My Father and your Father; and to My God and 
your God," which reminds us of the golden- 
covered boards, and of our standing before God 
in all the value of what Christ is. 

We see how our Lord put the disciples in a 
representative position. His breathing upon 
them seems to be an anticipative and symbolic 
act, suggesting the gift of the Holy Spirit, sent 
at Pentecost, in whose power they were to hold 
up Christ before men and to administer the order 
of the house of God, both in the gospel and in 
the discipline of the assembly. 



The veil and the entrance 223 

We arrive thus at a simple, scriptural interpre- 
tation of these pillars, which are the support of 
the truth: they are the Lord's redeemed people 
left here by Him to uphold that truth. But Christ 
says, u Iam the Truth " (Jno. 14:6). The Church 
is, as we have said, but the casket to contain the 
jewel, which, without the jewel, would be value- 
less. 

We need not be surprised therefore to find en- 
shrined in this very passage the precious jewel 
of the person of the Lord, "the Mystery of god- 
liness," or piety. Here is the true piety and the 
secret of its display. It is not a condition in us; 
it is not self-culture or self-occupation in any 
form. The Spirit of God never turns the eye in 
upon ourselves and the progress we are making. 
The Mystery of godliness is that which alone 
will produce godliness in God's people — it is 
Christ. As the soul is occupied and controlled 
by Him His likeness is produced, and "Christ 
liveth m" us (Gal. 2: 20). Holiness is never se- 
cared by law-keeping, or asceticism, or by phari- 
saic externalism. 

Let us examine this great Mystery of godli- 
ness : 

" God was manifest in the flesh."* Here are 

*As is well-known, this is rendered by some, according to 
good manuscript authority, "He who was manifest in flesh.' ' 
Buo this does not alter the truth we are considering, for He 
who was manifest, as Scripture clearly shows, was and is God. 



224 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

the golden hooks, the deity of Christ, from which 
the veil was suspended. All depends upon that. 
Deny His deity, and the veil, the wondrous 
Mystery, falls to earth. But the invisible God 
is now declared in this holy, heavenly, royal 
Man. " No man hath seen God at any time; the 
only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the 
Father, He hath declared Him " (Jno. 1 : 18). In 
the manger, in Simeon's arms, carried to Egypt, 
at Nazareth and at Jordan's banks — all through 
His life, it was God manifest in the flesh. This 
is the great truth which is held up by the Church. 
In one sense, though the two can never be sepa- 
rated, it is more "the doctrine of a standing or 
falling Church " than the truth of justification by 
faith. It is a wondrous privilege to hold up Him 
by whom alone we are upheld — et teneo et teneor, 
" I both hold and am held." 

"Justified in the Spirit." This was publicly 
done at our Lord's baptism. At John's preaching 
of repentance all who feared God came and 
owned in his baptism the truth about them- 
selves: they were but sinners deserving of death 
and judgment. Our Lord, in perfect grace, takes 
His place among these; His baptism suggesting 
the great truth of His substitutionary death for 
them. Instinctively John shrinks from associating 
the Holy One with self-confessed sinners, but he 
is reassured by the word, '• Thus it becometh us 
to fulfil all righteousness." God's righteousness 



The veil and the entrance 225 

could only be maintained, in connection with a 
guilty people, by the death of their Surety. And 
as our Lord emerges from His symbolic grave, 
the heavens are opened, and the Spirit descends 
in bodily form as a dove and " abode upon Him." 
Thus is He justified in the Spirit. 

And so all through His life of love and obedi- 
ence : "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the 
Holy Ghost and with power; who went about 
doing good, and healing all that were oppressed 
of the devil" (Acts 10 : 38). The witness and 
power of the Spirit was in every word and act, 
sealing and justifying all that He did. Hence 
the awful "blasphemy against the Holy Ghost" 
which ascribed to Satan these manifest works of 
the Spirit. By the power of the Spirit also He 
was raised from the dead. 

" Seen of angels." With what delight we may 
conceive the angels engaged in such ministry 
connected with the incarnation! — announcing to 
Zechariah the birth of Messiah's forerunner; to 
Mary, the wondrous honor that she was to be the 
mother of One to be called ' * Son of the Highest ; " 
and later to the shepherds, that "Christ the 
Lord " had come ! And how the hosts flocked out 
of heaven to celebrate this wondrous Mystery: 
"God manifest in the flesh." Later, they are 
privileged to minister to Him after His tempta- 
tion, and to one was the high honor given of 
strengthening the holy Man in the garden. An 



226 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

angel rolls away the stone from the sepulchre; 
two of them have the honor to sit in the empty- 
tomb to declare His resurrection; two of them 
witness to His disciples of His return ; and with 
what acclaim must the hosts in heaven have re- 
ceived the " King of glory" as He entered "the 
everlasting doors" (Ps. 24). And when He shall 
be brought to the millennial earth, "Rightful heir 
and Lord of all," the word is, " Let all the angels 
of God worship Him" (Heb. 1:6). 

"Preached unto the Gentiles." No narrow 
limits of Judaism could hold the mighty gospel 
of divine love and grace ' ' concerning His Son 
Jesus Christ." It begins at Jerusalem, and under 
the guidance of the Spirit, the good news is soon 
carried to Samaria, to Csesarea, to Antioch, and 
"the uttermost part of the earth" (Acts 1 : 8). 
Persecution but scattered the flame : " They went 
everywhere, preaching the Word," and even the 
unbelief and opposition of Israel but forced out 
the glad tidings to the Gentiles. 

" Believed on in the world." Here are the bless- 
ed world-wide results : multitudes are brought 
to repentance, and receive with humble joy the 
remission of sins through Him that was crucified. 
Assailed by Satan using fire and sword against 
Christ's flock, or as an angel of light creeping in 
to destroy them, Christ with His saints has al- 
ways stood. Infidelity and superstition have torn 
at the very vitals of the Church, yet the gospel is 



The veil and the entrance 227 

to-day what it ever was, "The power of God unto 
salvation to every one that believeth " (Rom. i : 
16). Rejected by the mass, apostasy growing, 
the end very near, Christ is and will be the ob- 
ject of His people's joy and faith. He is believed 
on in the world. 

"Received up into glory." This last clause 
seems almost out of place, as out of chronological 
order; for our Lord was received in glory prior 
to the proclamation of the gospel to the Gentiles 
and therefore to the faith in Him which followed. 
But it is in beautiful moral order ; His glory 
closes all, for all ends there. His own ascension 
and reception into the glory was the pledge of all 
the triumphs of grace in His people, in bringing 
"many sons " there too; for in this finale of the 
Mystery the redeemed are also associated with 
Him whose alone the glory is; as in the "Man 
child" caught up in Revelation 12 : 15, we see 
Him as His people's representative. But who 
can declare that glory upon which Christ has en- 
tered ? No eye of man has seen, nor heart con- 
ceived what God has given to His only Son. 
Words, strongest and best that man's lips can 
frame, and the noblest and wisest thoughts of 
earth, would fail to express that glory which He 
had with the Father before the world was, into 
which as Man He has entered, and of which, so 
far as is possible for the creature, every blood- 
bought child of God shall partake. But His own 



228 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

personal glory is, and ever shall be, unique and 
eternal. 

"All the Father's counsels claiming 
Equal honors to the Son; 
All the Son's effulgence beaming, 
Makes the Father's glory known." 

Beloved saints of God, it is this great Mystery 
of godliness which His redeemed people are to 
hold up in the house of God in the wilderness. 
What care and jealousy should mark us in keep- 
ing inviolate the glories of this blessed One who 
has thus entrusted them to His people here. 
While hiding in Him, may we so hold Him up 
that all may see His beauty, heavenly char- 
acter, holiness, royal dignity and glory, that 
all may honor the Son even as they honor the 
Father. 

We have thus in a partial way seen w r hat is 
suggested by the pillars upholding the veil. Let us 
now look at the veil in another aspect of the truth 
which it presents. As has been said, it w r as used 
to separate between the holy place and the most 
holy where God's presence was manifested. Be- 
yond this veil no one could pass except the high 
priest once a year, and that " not without blood 
. . . the Holy Ghost this signifying, that the 
way into the holiest of all was not yet made man- 
ifest " (Heb. 9 : 7, 8). The veil then, in this 
way speaks of the access to God being barred. 
This would seem to be suggested not only by its 



The veil and the entrance 229 

hanging there, but by the cherubim which were 
embroidered upon it. 

When God turned our first parents out of Eden 
for their sin, He placed cherubim at the entrance 
to the garden, with a flaming sword which turned 
every way to keep the way of the tree of life. 
There was both mercy and judgment in this. It 
was mercy that he might know his feebleness 
and frailty, and learn so to number his days as 
to apply his heart unto wisdom. This is the 
burden of the ''psalm of life," the 90th psalm: 
his days are as a shadow; " We spend our years 
as a tale that is told." How can such a feeble 
creature fail to turn with true repentance to the 
only One in whom help and mercy can be found ? 
Such at least was the evident purpose of God, 
and such the effect upon those who bow to the 
sentence of Yanity upon the fallen creature: " O 
satisfy us early with Thy mercy, that we may 
rejoice and be glad all our days." 

But mercy to the fallen creature does not con- 
ceal the fact of judgment also. "Righteous- 
ness and judgment" are the foundation of God's 
throne, and this is suggested by the cherubim, 
the executors of divine judgment, who upon the 
veil seem to be barring the way to the presence 
of God as those did at the entrance to Eden. 
Man, sinful and fallen, has forfeited all right to 
that holy Presence. The cherubim in Ezekiel 
seem to speak of this judicial distance of God, 



230 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

all the more emphasized there as He was about 
to leave His house and the nation. In connection 
with God's throne, the cherubim speak of judg- 
ment, barring the way to His presence. 

But, lest we seem to be introducing contra- 
dictory thoughts, let us pause a moment to con- 
nect this thought of the veil with that which 
we have previously learned. The veil was Christ 
in the flesh, of whom we rightly sing: 

"Thou didst attract the wretched and the weak, 
Thy joy, the wanderers and the lost to seek." 

How then can the veil be the barrier to the 
presence of God, when it speaks of Him who 
never turned a needy soul away ? Unquestion- 
ably we have here two aspects of the veil, which 
however are not so far apart as we might think. 
God is infinitely merciful and compassionate 
beyond our comprehension, yet in His holy, 
consuming presence none dare enter save as 
divinely entitled. In a certain sense we have 
here a paradox, illustrated in the person of our 
Lord, but which admits of a most blessed expla- 
nation. 

In a very real sense, God, manifest in His be- 
loved Son, was never more apart from man than 
when He was here, save in view of the redemp- 
tion He was about to accomplish. Here was 
manifested holiness, truth and love placed side 
by side with its opposite — a world of false, self- 



The veil and the entrance 231 

seeking mankind. Of necessity the Lord's pres- 
ence made man feel his distance from God. So 
when He caused the great draught of fishes, 
Peter's first and just impulse was to say, "De- 
part from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord M 
(Luke 5:8). True, our Lord reassured him, and 
drew him to Himself, but that was grace acting 
in love; a foreshadowing, we might say, of the 
rending of the veil for our sins, when the sinful 
could draw near. 

In His interview with Nicodemus, our Lord 
shows that two things, never separated, are 
necessary before a man can draw near to God. 
One is a work in him, and the other is for him. 
The work in him is new birth; before a man can 
see, much less enter, the kingdom of God, he 
must be born again. There stood the Lord in un- 
clouded communion with His Father, witnessed 
by His every act and word, but Nicodemus had 
never lifted the veil between himself and a holy 
God. But our Lord does not stop here — He 
never stops short of the full revelation of the 
glory and love of God : the Son of Man must be 
lifted up, that whosoever believeth in Him 
should not perish but have everlasting life. The 
veil thus is rent and the way into the presence of 
God manifest. 

Could we leave out the thought of salvation 
through Christ, and read the four Gospels as un- 
folding what is required of us, we should find the 



232 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

teachings and the example of our Lord Jesus 
only a hopeless barrier between our souls and 
God, for they would, by contrast, show our unfit- 
ness for His presence. But not " truth " only, 
but " grace " came by Jesus Christ, divinely 
wrought together in such away that every needy 
soul knew that He was a Friend and Saviour of 
sinners. Thus if the holy teaching of the Sermon 
on the Mount shows our sin, the cleansing of the 
leper at the foot of the mount shows the grace 
that meets the sinner; and the glories of the 
mount of transfiguration are followed by the 
mercy to the demoniac when our Lord came 
down (Matt. 8: 1-3; 17: 14-18). 

As we look up into the blue sky, there is often 
an involuntary sigh ; it seems so far above us, 
utterly beyond our reach, and so as we gaze upon 
the heavenly character of Christ — the blue of the 
veil — we feel our distance from Him. Our whitest 
linen beside the newly fallen snow is tarnished 
by comparison; so when the best among men 
is set beside the spotless purity of our Lord, 
we realize indeed that our very righteousnesses 
are " as filthy rags" (Isa. 64: 6). 

Whom shall we compare with Him ? Select the 
best of those who have worn the purple — a David, 
a Solomon, a Hezekiah or a Josiah: how puny 
and unkingly they are beside this King who 
never wore a crown save that of thorns; whose 
palace was the Mount of Olives or some retired 



The veil and the entrance 233 

place — not a home " where to lay His head;" 
whose riches were the little ministry of a few 
devoted women; whose retinue was a little band 
of Galileans. Poor! but all for our sakes! 

And as for the scarlet — though it was not the 
glory of the world for Him then^ surely, yet it 
was His by right, and will one day be His indeed. 
But then it spoke of His death rather; of His 
pathway of the cross. Thus the veil as repre- 
senting our Lord, in each of its colors declares 
that He alone of all the sons of men could draw 
near to God. 

But what it involved for Him to bring men to 
God is strikingly illustrated in our Lord's reply 
to the Greeks' request, "We would see Jesus" 
(Jno. 12 : 21). The Old Testament had foretold 
that the Gentiles would come and bow down be- 
fore Him. Here was an occasion for displaying 
the scarlet, His glory. Instead, while speaking 
of His glory, our Lord shows that it must come 
through the cross: "The hour is come that the 
Son of Man should be glorified. Verily, verily, 
I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into 
the ground and die. it abideth alone: but if it 
die, it bringeth forth much fruit" (Jno. 12: 23, 
24). In peerless perfection, Christ in life abode 
alone ; if He were to bring sinners to God, it 
must be through His death, bearing the penalty 
for their sin. So He goes on to say, "I, if I be 
lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto 



234 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

Me " (John 12: 32). The veil must be rent — His 
flesh given up in death that the way into God's 
presence might be manifest and the repenting 
sinner be able to draw near. Apart from the 
cross, Christ's perfection would have kept man 
away from God. So we read that when He gave 
up His spirit, "the veil of the temple was rent 
in twain from the top to the bottom." Now all 
the love of God flows forth freely, in abundant 
grace to man. 

This then is the veil held up by the four pillars : 
redeemed men holding up the precious truth, 
the mystery of the person of the Son of God de- 
livered up to death, His " flesh " rent, opening 
the way to the presence of God — to pardon and 
holiness and heaven. 

And we may well ask, What is the Church of 
Christ here for except to hold forth the truth as 
to the person and work of our Lord ? Therefore 
no disloyalty to that person or work can be per- 
mitted. Suppose that what professes to be the 
Church teaches that a spot is upon the white of 
the veil; that the blue does not mark Him es- 
pecially — that our Lord was as others of the 
earth, earthy; that He is not the King of kings, 
the Lord of lords; that the veil has not been rent; 
that He has not by His death opened the w r ay 
into the presence of God; in such case, it ceases 
to be "the pillar and ground of the truth;" it 
could not h« owned as "the house of God, the 



The veil and the entrance 235 

Church of the living God," no matter by what 
name it be called, or what historical claims it may 
make. A living, risen Christ makes a living 
Church, and only He : all else but forms that 
great house of Christendom, with its vessels to 
dishonor, from which the man of God is to purge 
himself (2 Tim. 2: 16-21). 

In keeping with the thought that the four pil- 
lars for the veil suggest the redeemed holding 
up the testimony of Christ, no capitals are men- 
tioned. Capitals might suggest the " crowning" 
of the saints which is reserved for heaven. There 
the four and twenty elders are crowned (Rev. 4: 
4), but so long as their feet are upon the desert 
sands they are in the place of weakness. 

"The crown and kingdom are reserved 
Where Christ is gone! " 

We pass next to the hanging at the entrance 
of the tabernacle, with its five pillars; they need 
not detain us long as we have already learned 
the significance of most of the materials, which 
are the same as those of the veil. The function 
of each however was distinct, and in some sense 
contrasted. The veil barred the way into the 
presence of God, while the hanging was for the 
constant entrance of the priests into the holy 
place. 

The five pillars were of shittim wood, overlaid 
with gold, with hooks of gold, and " chapiters," 



236 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

or capitals, and fillets of gold. They rested, how- 
ever, upon sockets of brass, not silver. Brass, as 
we shall see in more detail when we come to the 
court, is figurative of the immutable word of God 
and of unyielding judgment. From the fact that 
the pillars do not stand upon silver, they do not 
seem to suggest believers. Their number is that 
of responsibility, and they speak of Him who, as 
the shittim wood and gold also remind us, was 
God and Man alone able to meet it, standing 
firmly upon the immutable word of God. 

The five pillars and their hanging are thus close- 
ly connected, both pointing to the person of our 
Lord. If we may speak of the inner veil as the tes- 
timony of the Church to Christ, we may speak of 
the outer hanging as our Lord's own testimony 
to what He is. The four colors are here, but not 
embroidered in the form of cherubim ; for, looking 
outward, He is inviting men to enter, and He 
"came not to judge the world, but to save the 
world" (Jno. 12: 47). "God was in Christ recon- 
ciling the world unto Himself" (2 Cor. 5: 19). 
But if the cherubim of judgment were not pres- 
ent, all rested upon the fact of God's judgment 
of all things by His word, and from this our 
Lord never for a moment swerved. There was 
no toning down of divine truth to meet man. In 
infinite love He meets man, but at no sacrifice 
of the truth — rather at the sacrifice of Himself. 

Thus He says, " Think not that I am come to 



The veil and the entrance 237 

destroy the Law or the Prophets: I am not come 
to destroy but to fulfil " — give full force to their 
teaching. " For verily I say unto you, Till 
heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall 
in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled M 
(Matt. 5 : 17, 18). He then goes on to enforce 
the law in its inmost spirituality, searching down 
into the hearts of scribes and Pharisees, and 
showing their guiltiness. He magnifies the law, 
but in doing so, proves all to be under sin. Then, 
in infinite love, He goes to the cross and bears 
the penalty of a broken law for all who believe 
on Him. 

No thoughtful reader can fail to be impressed 
with our Lord's absolute dependence upon the 
whole word of God throughout His entire life. 
Even in the circumstances attending His birth, 
all was done " that the Scriptures might be ful- 
filled," and at His death it was the same. We 
would search in vain for the slightest uncer- 
tainty on His part as to the truth and authority 
of the Scriptures. With Him it was ever and only 
the word, of God. "The Scripture cannot be 
broken" (Jno.-io: 35). It was Moses who wrote 
of Him, and David who, by the Holy Ghost, fore- 
told His glory. How does the awful unbelief of 
men who profess to be His followers compare 
with this ? It is as if our Lord declared He stood 
or fell with the word of God; that if that were 
not true, neither was He. And so indeed it must 



238 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

be. He who is holy and true has given His sanc- 
tion to all Scripture as true. By it He met Satan 
and vanquished him ; to it He appealed in His 
teaching; from it He quoted constantly in all His 
conflicts with the unbelieving Pharisees and 
others. Its history, its psalms and its prophecy 
are declared by Him to be the word of God. The 
truth of the history of Jonah stands or falls with 
the truth of His own death and resurrection: to 
deny one is to deny the other also (Matt. 12 : 39, 
40). All Scripture pointed to Himself, and He 
expounded it so (Luke 24 : 27, 44). Thus our 
Lord fully and perfectly identified Himself with 
the word of God. 

Christ then, " according to the Scriptures," is 
the door, the only way of approach to God: " No 
man cometh unto the Father but by Me " (Jno. 
14: 6). He has fully magnified God's word and 
carried out its every provision and requirement. 
That holy Word, which would have condemned 
us forever, is now to us the vehicle of divine and 
eternal love in Christ. Like the hanging at the 
entrance of the tabernacle, He is the door of en- 
trance to God, and welcomes every soul to draw 
near in assurance of a divine and permanent wel- 
come. " By Me if any man enter in he shall be 
saved." 

We must not omit a reference to the capitals 
upon these five pillars at the entrance to the 
tabernacle. Thev were of gold, which seems to 



The veil and the entrance 239 

refer to the blessed fact that our Lord, having 
finished His blessed work, is now crowned with 
divine glory. " We see Jesus . . . crowned with 
glory and honor" (Heb. 2: 9). And is it not fit- 
ting that the brass foundations should thus be 
connected with the golden crowns ? " Ought not 
Christ to have suffered these things and to enter 
into His glory?" (Luke 24: 26). As between the 
brass at the foot and the gold at the head hung 
the door, so now between the sufferings of Christ 
and the glory which is soon to follow is suspended 
the precious gospel of grace and love through 
Him: " Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to 
the waters, and he that hath no money; come 
ye, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk 
without money and without price " (Isa. 55 : 1). 



LECTURE XI 

The Ark 

(Ex. 37:1-9.) 

WE have now before us the completed 
building, with the hanging at the entrance 
and the veil before the holy of holies. We come 
next to consider the ark and the mercy-seat upon 
it, whose place was in the inmost sanctuary. 

It was a chest or coffer of acacia wood, two and 
a half cubits long, one and a half cubits broad, 
and one and a half cubits high. It was overlaid 
with gold, within and without, so that nothing 
but gold was visible. Around the top was a crown 
of gold, and on the four corners were placed four 
rings of gold, two on a side, through which were 
passed two staves of acacia wood, overlaid with 
gold, which were never to be removed from the 
ark. Upon the ark was a cover of pure gold, 
with a cherub at each end beaten out of one 
piece with it. This was called the mercy-seat, 
which will occupy us later. 

Into the ark was put "the testimony," or two 
tables of the law, and in addition also, as we learn 
from Hebrews 9 : 4, "the golden pot that had 
manna, and Aaron's rod that budded." 

We are already familiar with the significance 



•x- : - 



»: 



'<:■' 



A A A__A_A_A-Jli 



a * m 







_. 



F J^ 



THE ARK 

WITH THE CHERUBIM THE DECORATION IS FROM THE LEAF FLOWER AND 



The Ark 241 

of the acacia and the gold — the perfect humanity 
and deity of our Lord Jesus Christ. We will 
therefore see what we can learn from the dimen- 
sions of the ark; and may we approach the sub- 
ject, not in the spirit of Uzzah who thought the 
ark needed his hand to steady it (2 Sam. 6: 6, 7), 
nor of those at Beth-shemesh who looked within 
and were judged for their irreverence (1 Sam. 6: 
19), but in something of what is suggested in the 
attitude of the cherubim — reverence, godly fear 
and worship. 

May not these half cubits remind us, as we 
have already suggested (page 193), that the 
knowledge of Christ given to us now is but par- 
tial; "we know in part" (1 Cor. 13 : 9). None 
but the Father can fully know the Son (Matt. 11 : 
27). Those who have the deepest knowledge of 
Him are the first to say, in the language of the 
Queen of Sheba, " It was a true report that I 
heard . . . and, behold, the half was not told me " 
(1 Kings 10: 6, 7). So with our all-glorious Lord, 
the scale is reduced — may we say? — that our 
finite minds may grasp something of the won- 
drous fulness of that which passeth knowledge. 

But if the scale be thus reduced, in one sense, 
in another the same truths are preserved, for we 
seem to gather from the proportion of these di- 
mensions just the lessons that we should gather 
were they double what they are. The height of 
the tabernacle boards was ten cubits, which, as 



242 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

we have seen, taught a special lesson — ten being 
the number of responsibility, fully met in Christ, 
This measure seems to govern the height of the 
tabernacle. Now if the ark had been double the 
size given, it would have been too large, out of 
proportion for the tabernacle. But if all the di- 
mensions are reduced one half, the scale is simply 
reduced, but the relative proportions remain the 
same. Thus if we double these dimensions we 
have, instead of I x ! x !, 5 x 3 x 3. Let us then 
look at the significance of these numbers. 

Five, as we have seen, is composed of 4 + 1 ; 
four being the number of the creature, and one 
of the Creator. Christ our Lord has brought 
these together and united them in His own per- 
son. He is Man and He is God. Were we to 
look at the five as composed of three and two, 
we reach a similar thought, from a different 
point of view. Three is the number of full, divine 
manifestation. It is therefore the number which 
speaks of the Trinity — the three divine persons 
in the Deity. Our Lord was the embodiment 
of Deity: "In Him dwelleth all the fulness of 
the Godhead bodily" (Col. 2 : 9). Two on the 
other hand speaks of redemption, through His 
death. Thus in His blessed and perfect person 
we have the fulness of Deity and redemption 
forever united. In whichever way we take it, 
therefore, the five would speak of the Son of 
God and Son of Man in the one person. 



The Ark 243 

The ark was the same in breadth and height ; so 
there was divine equality in ourLord in the perfect 
manifestation of all that God is. Every attribute 
was fully and consistently exhibited — justice and 
love; holiness and grace ; wisdom and power. 
And these divine characteristics were connected 
with those which speak of Him incarnate. Three 
is also the number of resurrection, and thus is a 
reminder that He in whom all this perfection 
exists is the risen One — " alive forevermore," 
and thus "declared to be the Son of God with 
power " (Rom. 1:4). We have therefore in these 
two numbers the reminder that it is with God 
manifest in the flesh we have to do. 

We notice next that this ark was overlaid with 
gold within and without. While the acacia boards 
gave form and dimensions to the ark, the appear- 
ance was all gold — no wood was visible. Thus our 
Lord's humanity gives Him the form in which 
He was and is. Light of light, the Creator and 
Upholder of all things, He became a Man, and 
was and is eternally "the Man Christ Jesus." 
But how God guards us from having a single low 
view of this most lowly One. The gold covers all. 
Look at Him! Gaze, as far as finite minds and 
hearts can, upon the majesty of His being, and 
all is divine ! The divine nature is displayed over 
the "form of a servant," and wherever the all- 
seeing eye of God rests, within that pure and 
holy mind, affections and will, as well as without 



244 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

upon that blameless walk, meekness and obedi- 
ence, He owns Him as His equal, His co-eternal 
Son. It is all gold, though the form of the Ser- 
vant was there, with perfect human faculties and 
dependence — everything that belongs to man, 
sin apart. But spread all over this is the glory 
of His deity. And does not faith see the same ? 

This leads us to inquire what was the primary 
purpose of the ark ? The answer to this will 
bring us to two great truths, which we shall take 
in the order in which they would naturally come; 
though, unquestionably, in God's mind they 
might come in the reverse order. 

4 'At that time the Lord said unto me, Hew thee 
two tables of stone like unto the first, and come 
up unto Me into the Mount and make thee an 
ark of wood: and I will write on the tables the 
words that were in the first tables which thou 
brakest, and thou shalt put them into the ark. 
And I made an ark of shittim wood . . . and put 
the tables in the ark which I had made ; and 
there they be, as the Lord commanded me " 
(Deut. 10 : 1-5). 

This is interesting as showing the character of 
the narrative in Deuteronomy, and illustrating 
the perfection of Scripture, the exactness of in- 
spiration, and how lines of divine truth converge. 
In reading this passage we would not have 
thought of a tabernacle, nor of a gold-covered 
ark with a mercy-seat and cherubim of gold, 



The Ark 245 

and yet there can be no question that this is 
"the ark of the testimony/' which we are now 
studying. Moses, through the Spirit of God, here 
in Deuteronomy, was going over the people's past 
ways and God's ways with them. Scripture is 
never a mere repetition, even where the same 
passage is quoted. This will account for the 
freedom with which words and clauses are some- 
times changed when quoted in the New Testa- 
ment from the Old. The Spirit has a purpose in 
view, and without violence to the former mean- 
ing of the passage, may give new light in con- 
nection with it; or He may omit all except that 
which in divine wisdom is to be laid before us 
in the present connection. 

Here in Deuteronomy, Moses was recounting 
to the people, in much the same way as psalms 
78, 105 and 106, how God had led them and cared 
for them, and how they had utterly failed. The 
object of this was to magnify God, beget in them 
real humility, and thus induce a true dependence 
and obedience. The chapter preceding had re- 
counted their sin in making the golden calf, and 
how the first tables of the law had consequently 
been broken. A second set of tables was pro- 
vided in divine mercy, but how were these, with 
the same holy requirements and prohibitions as 
the first, to be aught but a curse to the stiff- 
necked and rebellious people ? Alas, these tables 
should have been safe, "unbroken," in the tent 



246 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

of any Israelite. But such was not the case: a 
special coffer must be prepared for them ; and 
thus Moses speaks of the ark of shittim wood. 
Every Israelite would know something of this 
ark, its overlaying gold, its mercy-seat and cher- 
ubim, so none would be misled by the omission 
of all these. The one thing Moses would remind 
them of was the need for a coffer for the law's 
safety and of a special guard to bear this coffer 
(chap. 10: 8). All this would bring home to them 
the sanctity of the law and the absolute need of 
obedience to it — may we not say, of their guilt too, 
and helplessness ? God had to provide a shrine 
for that which should have been enshrined in 
their hearts. 

All this beautifully accords with the signifi- 
cance of the shittim wood, and its mention apart 
from the gold. Here was a disobedient and re- 
bellious people who could not be entrusted with 
God's perfect law. He must either judge them, 
or provide in mercy that which, typically, could 
be entrusted with it. Where could such an one 
be found ? In the very wilderness scene where 
His people had failed, where even the leader 
Moses can only acknowledge the hand of God 
upon them all for sin — a sin which ran back to 
Adam — God raises up the Second Man (see Ps. 
90, 91). Of Him the shittim wood speaks: One 
who, in all the circumstances in which the people 
failed, is subjected to greater trials far than they 



The Ark 247 

ever passed through ; One who perfectly kept the 
law of God in His heart. A Man, but infinitely 
more than a man. He was tempted, tried, sub- 
jected to all that could possibly come upon men, 
and in it all never swerved in heart from absolute 
delight in God's law, nor in act from perfect obe- 
dience to it ; therefore, in view of the utter in- 
ability of Levitical sacrifices to take away sin, 
He says, " Lo, I come : in the volume of the 
book it is written of Me, I delight to do Thy will, 
O My God: yea, Thy law is within My heart" 
(Ps. 40 : 7, 8). Man may, from habit, example, 
self-interest, or even from some inclination, out- 
wardly keep some of the commandments, but no 
unregenerate man could ever say he delighted to 
do the will of God. As soon as his own will is op- 
posed it rebels against God. ' * The carnal mind is 
enmity against God : for it is not subject to the law 
of God, neither indeed can be" (Rom. 8: 7). 
There was no shrine therefore for the law of God 
except in the Ark of God — in Him who could 
say: " I came down from heaven, not to do Mine 
own will but the will of Him that sent Me " 
(Jno. 6 : 38) ; " My meat is to do the will of Him 
that sent Me " (Jno. 4: 34). 

We are sometimes taught that Christ's obe- 
dience to the law was imputed to us instead of 
our obedience to it. This is contradicted by Gal. 4 : 
5, which tells us that His incarnation and obe- 
dience to the law was "to redeem them . that 



248 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

were under the law; " and how that was done we 
learn in the preceding chapter: " Christ hath re- 
deemed us from the curse of the law, being made 
a curse for us ; for it is written, Cursed is every- 
one that hangeth on a tree " (Gal. 3 : 13). He 
could not have been a substitute to bear the 
judgment of a broken law, unless He perfectly- 
kept it in His own heart. But His keeping the 
law did not undo man's breaking it. It was 
necessary therefore that He bear upon the cross 
the curse deserved by us. 

We return for a moment to the thought of the 
law enshrined in His heart. Under His divine 
control it was carried out for Him as a Babe ; the 
only One who never needed sacrifice for purifica- 
tion was brought to the temple by the parents 
"to do for Him after the custom of the law" 
(Luke 2: 27); and twelve years later, according 
to the custom of the Jews, He was again brought 
to the temple to be presented to God. How far 
beyond all that He goes, as He tells them, "Wist 
ye not that I must be about My Father's busi- 
ness ? " And so it was throughout His entire life. 
They might accuse Him impliedly of violating 
"the tradition of the elders " (Matt. 15: 2), but 
never truly of the slightest violation of a com- 
mand of God ; so in all the consciousness of perfect 
rectitude, He answers: "Why do ye also trans- 
gress the commandment of God by your tra- 
dition ? " (Matt. 15:3). He could ask, " Which of 



The Ark 249 

you convinceth Me of sin ?" (Jno. 8: 46) and de- 
clare, "I do always those things that please 
Him " (Jno. 8 : 29). The Jews had so mingled 
their traditions with the law of the Sabbath that 
they mistook the one for the other. This brought 
our Lord into frequent collision with them regard- 
ing alleged violations of the command. But He 
showed how their so-called Sabbath-keeping was 
but an empty, lifeless thing, which violated the 
first principle of the divine rest, "I will have 
mercy and not sacrifice " (Matt. 12:7). Neither 
Satan's nor man's malignity could ever find in 
Him a single violation of that holy law. His heart 
was the chosen shrine for it. 

The time is coming when, under the terms of 
the new covenant of grace, sealed by " the blood 
of the everlasting covenant" (Heb. 13: 20), God 
will at last have a resting-place for His law in 
the hearts of His people: "I will put My laws 
into their mind, and write them in their hearts: 
and T will be to them a God, and they shall be to 
Me a people " (Heb. 8: 10). Then the law will be 
their delight, and their whole language be used 
to set forth its perfections: " Oh how love I Thy 
law! it is my meditation all the day" (Ps. 119: 
97). But this is the fruit of grace through re- 
demption, enjoyed now too by every regenerate 
heart, for to all such have the blessings of the 
new covenant been ministered. But even though 
it may be truly said of all such, "Whosoever is 



250 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

born of God doth not commit sin " (i Jno. 3: 9), 
yet of such it is also said, "If any man sin, we 
have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ 
the righteous " (1 Jno. 2: 1). So that in the be- 
liever there are two principles, two natures, the 
old and the new: "The flesh lusteth against 
the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh: 
and these are contrary the one to the other " 
(Gal. 5: 17). 

Here then, even in those who are partakers of 
divine grace, there is a contrast with our Lord. 
He is the only One who in Himself had absolutely 
nothing contrary to the law of God. He stands 
alone, the theme of praise and worship by all 
who have through the Spirit partaken of His per- 
fect nature. He is the true, the only Ark. 

But beside the tables of the law within the 
ark, was also the golden pot of manna. The 
manna was the daily food for the people through- 
out their wilderness journey. "When the dew 
that lay was gone up, behold upon the face of the 
wilderness there lay a small round thing, as 
small as the hoarfrost on the ground . . . and 
when the sun waxed hot, it melted " (Ex. 16: 14, 
21). They were distinctly forbidden to lay up 
any of it; it was to be daily gathered for their 
daily need. Spite of this,' some left of it till the 
morning, and it turned to corruption: "It bred 
worms and stank" (Ex. 16 : 20). On the day be- 
fore the Sabbath, however, they gathered a 



The Ark 251 

double portion, and it preserved its purity and 
sweetness on the day of rest. 

All this is beautifully clear. In John 6: 32, 33, 
our Lord declares Himself to be the true manna: 
"The bread of God is He which cometh down 
from heaven, and giveth life unto the world." 
Christ come down into the world, and giving 
Himself unto death, is life for the believer and 
the sustenance of that life, through the agency 
of the Holy Spirit, whose one work is to glorify 
Christ. The dew fell, and when it had passed the 
manna was visible. The Spirit, suggested by the 
dew, does not manifest Himself, but presents 
Christ, and then withdraws from view : " He 
shall glorify Me: for He shall receive of Mine, 
and shall show it unto you" (Jno. 16: 14). 

But this heavenly food is most sensitive; it 
does not tarry after the sun has risen, when this 
world's attractions or cares absorb the mind. If 
Christ is to be the food of our souls there must 
be the "early rising," of which Scripture is full 
(Gen. 22:3, etc -) — that purpose of heart which 
overcomes nature's indolence — "That ye be not 
slothful, but followers of them who through faith 
and patience inherit the promises" (Heb. 6: 12). 
"Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His 
righteousness " (Matt. 6: 33) — it is to have pre- 
eminence. Where Christ's things are given the 
first place, there will always be food and susten- 
ance for the soul. But whep "the care of this 



252 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

world, and the deceitfulness of riches " (Matt. 
13: 22) come in, the heavenly manna melts away. 

If spiritual sloth fails to gather the manna, 
spiritual parsimony cannot keep it. There is no 
such thing as a hoard of spirituality. Daily must 
we feed upon Christ. The grace of yesterday 
will not do for to-day. How this strikes at the 
root of "attainments in holiness." We have 
practically only so much of Christ as we enjoy at 
the present moment. We are never to look back 
with complacency upon our past experiences: if 
we do, the corruption of spiritual pride soon mani- 
fests itself. God knows that our only happiness 
and holiness is in constant, present communion 
with the Lord, and He will not permit a dwelling 
upon the past in the way of excluding the present. 

There will come a time, however, when we 
can safely remember the past, and feed upon 
Him who was our stay here below: " Thou shalt 
remember all the way which the Lord thy God 
led thee these forty years . . . and He humbled 
thee and fed thee with manna which thou knew- 
est not"(Deut. 8: 2, 3). In glory, past experi- 
ences will be food for praise, with no possibility 
for pride to be developed. This is suggested in 
the preservation of the manna to be used on the 
Sabbath, God's rest, and emphasized in the golden 
pot filled with an omer of manna — the portion for 
one man — and "laid up before the testimony, to 
be kept" (Ex. 16: 32-34). This is referred to in 



The Ark 253 

the promise to the overcomer in Pergamos, and 
is particularly appropriate in view of the nature 
of the evil there to be overcome — the seductions 
of the world. "To him that overcometh will I 
give to eat of the hidden manna" (Rev. 2: 17). 
Those who have turned from the world here, to 
feed upon Christ, will find all the blessedness 
enjoyed here day by day laid up and kept there 
in a glorified Lord. 

The golden pot seems to emphasize the divine 
glory of Him who humbled Himself here to be 
the food of His people. In that very lowliness 
He was still " God over all "(Rom. 9 : 5, /. N. D.) 
But God has enshrined that lowliness in the glory 
of deity: He has reversed, we may say, the form 
in which He appeared here. 

The thought of the manna laid up seems to be 
that it is " reserved for heaven's delights, "rather 
than while our Lord was here. But we must re- 
member it was here that He became the manna, 
and here also that the excellence of that character 
was manifest to God who saw it ever as in the 
golden pot. This perfect grace of Christ causes 
faith to worship Him now; while, in the day of 
His glory, "every knee shall bow" (Phil. 2: 10). 

We need not fear that anything truly of Christ 
can ever be really lost. What our hearts have 
treasured of Him here, we shall find and enjoy 
with Him there. Like the apostle, then, let us 
be "forgetting those things which are behind, 



254 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

and reaching- forth unto those things which are 
before, press toward the mark for the prize of 
of the calling on high of God, in Christ Jesus" 
(Phil. 3: 13, 14); and when we reach " the land," 
as we gaze upon that divine One who in lowli- 
ness fed us in this desert scene with the " bread 
of the mighty" (Ps. 78 : 25), we shall exclaim, 
with Joshua of old, " Not one thing hath failed 
of all the good things which the Lord your God 
spake concerning you" (Josh. 23: 14). 

One thing more was laid up in the ark: "Aaron's 
rod that budded," which recalls a solemn epoch 
in the history of the people. In Numbers 16: 1, 
etc., we read of Dathan and Abiram, of the tribe 
of Reuben, and Korah, of the tribe of Levi, who 
rebelled against divinely appointed authority — 
in Moses as leader and in Aaron as priest. The 
rebellion was formidable ; two hundred and fifty 
princes of the people being connected with it. 
Dathan and Abiram belonged to the tribe of 
Reuben, which would naturally have had the 
leadership, being the first-born. But here, as 
so constantly in Scripture, the natural, the 
first-born, must give place to the spiritual — the 
new-born. Though to Reuben, the first-born, be- 
longed "the excellency of dignity, and the ex- 
cellency of power," of him it is said, " Unstable 
as water, thou shalt not excel" (Gen. 49 : 3, 4), 
The first Adam is an example of this, quickly 
followed by Cain, Esau and others — all pointing 



The Ark 255 

to this, that the fallen, unstable first man must 
give place to the Second Man, the only One 
who could stand before God, and who stands for 
the feeblest of those who put their trust in Him. 

Dathan and Abiram seem to have reasserted 
their claim to the first-born prerogatives, and 
their rebellion was primarily against Moses as 
leader. But Moses and Aaron cannot be sepa- 
rated here, for Christ, of whom they were types, 
is both King and Priest. So we find Korah, of 
the tribe of Levi, associated with the sons of 
Reuben, and Korah's rebellion was chiefly against 
the priesthood of Aaron. As a Levite he had 
special privileges in connection with the taber- 
nacle and holy vessels; emrous of Aaron, he de- 
sired to intrude into the priesthood. Typically 
it answers to that refusal of the sacrificial work 
of Christ and His exclusive place of nearness to 
God; the only One by whom any can approach to 
Him. It was not rebellion against man. " What 
is Aaron that ye murmur against him ? " (Num. 
16: n). It was the authority of God, and His 
provision in mercy whereby the guilty nation 
had been spared. 

Men speak lightly of the Son of God, of His 
sacrificial work; they deny the need of His prec- 
ious blood which alone cleanseth from all sin. It 
is a repetition of the rebellion of Korah, the 
culmination of all evil: beginning with Cain's 
denial of sin, going on to Balaam's mingling of 



256 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

God's people with His enemies, and reaching its 
last development in Korah. Thus does the Spirit 
of God summarize the rise, growth and culmina- 
tion of apostasy from divine trath: " Woe unto 
them ! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and 
ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, 
and perished in the gainsaying of Korah " (Jude 
n). In the sight of God it is as already accomp- 
lished. Our Lord beheld Satan as lightning fall 
from heaven (Luke 10 : 18); and the seer has 
narrated the end of the Beast and false prophet, 
so closely answering to the sons of Reuben on 
the one hand, and to Korah, as the Antichrist, 
on the other. " These both were cast alive into 
a lake of fire, burning with brimstone " (Rev. 
19: 20). 

But these awful judgments inflicted upon the 
leaders and "sinners against their own souls " 
(Num. 16 : 38), were meant to turn the people 
from such madness and folly. It is divine love 
which withdraws the veil from the future, and 
Warns men to "flee from the wrath to come ,f 
(Matt. 3:7). The plague which fell upon the 
people in connection with this rebellion was 
stayed by the censer of Aaron, the very one 
against whom in their blindness they had re- 
belled. Typically, how like Him it is who in 
mercy, though rejected by the multitudes, stands 
"between the dead and the living," and arrests 
the infliction of wrath (Num. 16: 47, 48). 



The Ark 257 

God would, however, give a manifest proof in 
grace, of the priestly position of Aaron, as well 
as of His power. In the following chapter 
(Num. 17), He shows this therefore in Aaron's 
rod. Each tribe was to bring a rod with the 
name of its prince upon it, and Aaron's name for 
Levi. The rod of him whom God had chosen 
would blossom, and thus the whole question of 
priestly rule was to be finally settled. Aaron's 
rod having budded, blossomed and brought forth 
almonds, is thereby divinely designated. In his 
rod alone was the power of resurrection mani- 
fested. God had answered. 

All this speaks in an unmistakable way of the 
true Priest, divinely set forth as the only one 
having right and power, which always go to- 
gether in the things of God. The rod is the 
emblem of rule and authority, which has its 
source in God, to be exercised in the power of 
life. All possible claimants may present their 
rods — lifeless things, upon which already the 
sentence of death has passed. Along with these 
is His rod who also takes His place with the rest 
in death — " cut off out of the land of the living" 
(Isa. 53 : 8); in His case, however, not under 
penalty for Himself, but in grace, as the repre- 
sentative of His people. Who among the sons of 
men has received back his rod with marks of life ? 
Who among all those in death has been "raised 
from the dead by the glory " of God ? None 



258 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

save Him in whom alone was life, in whom alone 
there was no sin, therefore death had no claim 
upon Him; " It was not possible that He should 
be holden of it " (Acts 2 : 24). He alone then has 
competence to be the Priest before God. This is 
emphasized in Hebrews 7, where our Lord is 
seen as the One who " abideth a Priest continu- 
ally ,, (ver. 3), " after the order of Melchizedek; " 
"of whom it is witnessed that He liveth" (ver. 8). 
He is thus a Priest after the power of an endless 
life (ver. 16), of which we are reminded by the 
flowering,- budding and fruitage of the rod. The 
rod should also remind us of that rule in right- 
eousness and peace seen in the Melchizedek 
priesthood of our Lord, as " King of righteous- 
ness " and " King of peace." 

But there is more in connection with this won- 
drous "rod that budded." It was from the almond, 
which in Hebrew means "the hastener," being 
the first to bloom in the Spring ; as Christ is not 
only risen, but "the First-fruits of them that slept'' 
(1 Cor. 15: 20). This implies other fruits of His 
resurrection: " Except a corn of wheat fall into 
the ground and die, it abideth alone, but if it die 
it bringeth forth much fruit" (Jno. 12: 24). God 
is "bringing many sons unto glory" through 
Him, and there is a suggestion of this divine 
fruitage in the almonds. So after His resurrec- 
tion our Lord sends a message to His disciples, 
for the first time calling them "brethren" (Jno. 



The Ark 259 

20: 17) — "not ashamed to call them brethren" 
(Heb. 2 : 11). This indeed is the fruit He desired, 
fulfilling the word of the prophet, " He shall see 
of the travail of His soul and shall be satisfied " 
(Isa. 53 : 11). Thus we see His people forever 
united with Himself — one day to reign as priests 
with Him to the glory of His grace (Rev. 5 : 9, 10). 

What a divine reply this is, in infinite grace, to 
the unbelief which would murmur at His pre- 
eminence ! He alone is worthy, who for us was 
slain and is now " alive forevermore; " and we, 
by purest grace, shall live with Him. 

Thus we have the purpose of the ark — an abid- 
ing repository for the law, then also for the pot 
of manna and Aaron's rod that budded. In close 
connection with these, we find also that the book 
of the law was laid up (Deut. 31 : 26), to be a 
witness against them in the day of their depar- 
ture from God. God's word is but the enlarge- 
ment of His law, the one unchanging expression 
of His will. The word law is frequently used for 
the entire Word, as in Ps. 1:2. It was enshrined in 
the heart of our Lord. He ever put honor upon 
the whole word of God, and said of it all, " The 
Scripture cannot be broken" (Jno. 10 : 35). 

It has been well suggested* that each of the art- 
icles contained in the ark was a reminder and a 
witness of failure on the part of the people : the 
tables of the law were a.reminder of the golden- 

* Lessons from the Tabernacle of Jehovah, J. B. Jackson, 



26b Lectures on the Tabernacle 

calf apostasy, the first tables having been broken 
on that occasion : the manna reminded them of 
their murmuring and unbelief; and the rod that 
budded recalled the awful rebellion of Korah 
against the priest of God. For us, too, how all 
this speaks aloud — a broken law, unbelief and 
murmuring, and of pride that would rise against 
Christ! 

Yet, blessed be His name, these reminders of 
sin are closely and eternally linked with the 
blessed One who has secured pardon and bless- 
ing on the very occasion of all this evil. A law 
broken by us has found an eternal home in His 
heart who magnified the law and made it honor- 
able (Isa. 42: 21). The manna tells of His grace 
in our unbelief, and the budding rod, the symbol 
of a yoke that is easy and a burden that is light. 
Soon, in the day of glory, will all this be fully 
seen. 

Well may there be a crown about the top of 
the ark! He for whom man had nothing but 
the crown of thorns is now "crowned with glory 
and honor" (Heb. 2 : 9). Upon the ark of acacia 
wood — "Jesus" — is placed the crown of divine 
glory, for He is also divine. 

This, then, was the coffer, or casket, contain- 
ing Israel's chief treasures — the covenant of their 
relationship with God and the witness of His love 
and care; the realities of which are for us in 
Christ, "in whom are hid all the treasures of 



The Ark 261 

wisdom and knowledge" (Col. 2:3)* — in whom 
these "unsearchable riches" are safely kept 
against all the cunning of Satan and the weakness 
of the believer. Complete justification, divine 
grace for every step of the way, and a union in life 
with Him, these are the treasures, with all the 
spiritual blessings which accompany them, safely 
kept for us "in Christ." It is now hidden from 
the eye of the world: " The world knoweth us 
not, because it knew Him not" (1 Jno. 3: 1). Our 
life is " hid with Christ in God " (Col. 3:3). What 
a day it will be when God displays " the exceed- 
ing riches of His grace " (Eph. 2:7)! 

There was another purpose, we may almost 
say the primary purpose, for which the ark was 
intended, distinct from and yet closely connected 
with what we have been dwelling upon. We 
merely mention it here, as it will form the sub- 
ject of the next chapter. This was the golden 
mercy-seat or covering to the ark, with the golden 
cherubim beaten out of the same piece of prec- 
ious metal. 

It remains to say a word as to the staves which 
were to be put into the rings on the two sides 

*I am aware that this verse is translated also, u in which,' ' 
making u the mystery" thr? antecedent and not Christ. But 
the reading " Christ " is well supported ; besides, it seems more 
in accord with the whole theme of the epistle, the preeminence 
of Christ in all things. Ephesians dwells more upon the Church, 
the mystery. In either case, He is the centre of the mystery 
and gives value to all. 



262 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

(or, feet) of the ark, to carry it through the des- 
ert. Emphasis has been laid upon the " feet," * 
as suggesting that the ark, when carried upon 
the shoulders of the priests, would thus be above 
their heads, a conspicuous object for the people 
to behold. It is clear that the staves in the rings 
remind us that our Lord ever journeys with His 
people. If they are pilgrims, He will be a pil- 
grim too, and fulfil His own word, "I will never 
leave thee nor forsake thee " (Heb. 13: 5). 

The use of these staves was notable in the 
wilderness. The people were never to march 
without the ark. It was to go before them and 
mark out the way. When Moses, apparently for- 
getting this, asked Hobab to accompany them, 
"And thou mayest be to us instead of eyes" 
(Num. 10: 29-33), there seems to be a rebuke as 
well as gracious response by God. The ark went 
before them in the three days' journey after 
leaving Horeb, to search out a resting-place for 
them. Thus Christ, in the power of resurrection, 
ever leads His beloved ones through the track- 

*The word for "feet" is not the ordinary one, regel, but 
paam, from a root meaning to strike, hence to tread the ground. 
With a numeral it is more frequently translated "times," 
measured by a tread or stroke. In the comparatively few 
places where it is rendered "feet," it refers chiefly to the foot- 
steps, the actual step taken : " Order my steps in Thy Word " 
(Ps. 119 : 133^. This is in perfect accord with the rings being 
in the "steps" of the ark. Our Lord came down to put His 
feet, as it were, in the very steps which His people must take 
through the wilderness. 



The Ark 263 

less waste. What need have we of " eyes," when 
such an One leads us on ? 

We have the opposite of this when the people 
refused to go up into the land after the spies had 
brought back an evil report of it. The people, 
with their eyes on themselves and on the giants 
in the land, deliberately turned back, except 
Caleb and Joshua, and the solemn word of God 
declared that the unbelieving people should 
never enter that good land; they should die in 
the wilderness. Then with strange inconsistency 
they insist upon entering the land to take posses- 
sion of it. But God is not a man that He should 
repent. The people go up, but it is significantly 
added, "The ark of the covenant of the Lord, 
and Moses, departed not out of the camp " (Num. 
14 : 40-45). The result was utter discomfiture. 
So will it ever be with those who turn away 
from God in unbelief and who, without Christ, 
presume to lay claim to blessing. 

Another notable instance of the ark going be- 
fore the people was at the crossing of Jordan. 
This indeed was a new and untried way for them : 
"Ye have not passed this way heretofore." The 
ark, borne by the priests, led the way, and the 
people, at an interval of two thousand cubits, 
followed. When the feet of the priests bearing 
the ark touched the Jordan, its waters fled back; 
the ark in the midst of Jordan stayed the waters 
till all the people had passed over dry shod into 



264 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

the land of their inheritance (Josh. 3 : 14-17). 
The history of Jericho's downfall after being 
compassed by the ark seven days is of the same 
character. It is Christ who alone can lead His 
people to victory. And there must ever be the 
44 space" between Him and the most faithful. 
Aaron and Moses fall in the wilderness, but the 
ark abides. 

Our blessed Lord is thus manifestly set forth as 
the only sufficient Leader of His people. This 
is particularly marked in the passage of Jordan, 
the river of death and judgment. What man, the 
most faithful and devoted, could face that awful 
stream, unless Christ had been there before, that 
His people might pass on after Him dry shod ? 
Moses, not allowed to enter the land, illustrates 
for us the fact that one violation of the law would 
exclude from the inheritance: *' For whosoever 
shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one 
point, he is guilty of all " (Jas. 2 : ioj. One sin 
would shut us out of heaven as it shut Moses out 
of Canaan. But thanks be to God, He had heav- 
enly blessings for Moses, though he had to be an 
example of God's governmental faithfulness. 

It is Christ, then, who through the sacrifice of 
Himself, has opened the way into the heavenly 
inheritance — both as to the future glory and its 
present spiritual enjoyment, as in Ephesians 
1:3. He alone could arrest the power of death and 
judgment, and open up the way of blessing into 



The Ark 265 

the inheritance which grace has provided. He 
also is the Victor over Jericho, having " over- 
come the world." He has not left His beloved 
ones who are still in the conflict and weariness 
of the way. 

But we see an abuse of these staves when, in 
the days of the Judges, the people bring out the 
ark to meet the Philistines (i Sam. 4: 3). Israel 
was in a wretched condition, and that of the 
priests was fearful. The holy things of God were 
despised; open sin was flaunted before the eyes 
of God and man. Will a holy God link His name 
with such ? Impossible. Rather must He for- 
sake His dwelling-place and deliver His ark into 
the hands of the enemy. So the holy Christ of 
God is never, never can be, " the minister of sin " 
(Gal. 2: 17). Need we wonder that when sin is 
not judged, "Thou goest not forth with our 
armies ? " (Ps. 44 : 9). 

There is a merciful limit to the Lord's chasten- 
ings however, so He causes the ark to be brought 
back. The Philistines can make no use of the 
staves, which are only for priestly hands, so the 
ark is set upon a cart and drawn back by un- 
willing kine to the land of Israel. In the days 
of David it finds a resting-place in Mount Zion, 
and finally when the temple was built by Solo- 
mon, the ark found a permanent abode. Its 
typical journeys were over; so we read, "They 
drew out the staves, that the ends of the staves 



266 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

were seen out in the holy place before the oracle, 
and they were not seen without: and there they 
are unto this day" (i Kings 8 : 8). Now the 
longing of David, "the man after God's heart," 
is fulfilled. That on account of which he would 
"not give sleep to his eyes "is now, after all his 
afflictions, granted him, and in the fulness of his 
joy he anticipatively says, "Arise, O Lord, into 
Thy rest; Thou, and the ark of Thy strength " 
(Ps. 132:8). God cannot enter into His rest till He 
brings His people also into it; so all waits till the 
conflict with sin is over forever — all divinely and 
eternally settled. Then, and not till then, will 
the staves be withdrawn, when our Lord's com- 
panying with His blood-bought people through 
the wilderness will be over: "There remaineth 
therefore a rest to the people of God" (Heb. 4: 
9). Even then the "staves" will be visible, in 
memory of the past, and be the cause of fresh and 
eternal outbursts of praise. " In all their afflic- 
tion, He was afflicted, and the angel of His pres- 
ence saved them: in His love and in His pity He 
redeemed them; and He bare them, and carried 
them all the days of old " (Isa. 63: 9). 

May Christ, the Ark of the Covenant, be in- 
creasingly dear, as the One who in Himself con- 
tains all our treasures, and who will keep them 
and us safe till the day of glory and of joy, to the 
praise of His grace ! 



LECTURE XII 

The Mercy-seat 
(Ex. 37 : 6-9) 

THE mercy-seat, as already briefly described, 
was a cover upon the ark, of the same length 
and breadth; it was of pure gold, and at either 
end were cherubim beaten out of one piece with 
it ; they were thus a part of the mercy-seat. 
These symbolic figures had their wings over- 
shadowing the mercy-seat, and their faces look- 
ing down upon it. 

We are told that the heathen had something 
similar to the ark and mercy-seat with the cher- 
ubim — of grotesque and repulsive character. 
But what is very significant in these heathen 
arks is, that upon the lid rested an idol — man's 
work and god — upon which the cherubim gazed 
in worship. " Their idols are silver and gold, the 
work of men's hands," says the psalmist (Ps. 115: 
4) ; with hands, eyes, lips, but neither power, 
knowledge nor words — man's miserable creature. 
How ignoble in contrast to the true God, the 
Creator and Lord of all! With Him is power, 
knowledge, wisdom; and "He that planted the 
ear, shall He not hear ? He that formed the eye, 
shall He not see ?" (Ps. 94: 8, 9). 

But upon the mercy-seat was no representation 
of God. "God is a Spirit; and they that worship 



268 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth " 
(Jno. 4: 24). How divinely in accord with all His 
truth it is that, in those days of partial revela- 
tion, of type and shadow, God should have most 
jealously guarded the conception of His infinitely 
glorious being from any semblance of represen- 
tation so universal among the heathen. 

We are told that the Israelites represented a 
stage in the natural development of the human 
race in their upward progress. But who taught 
them to cast away all idols ? How could they, or 
Moses, have conceived the thought that God was 
infinitely great and almighty, but not corporeal ? 
There is but one true answer — God was pleased 
to make Himself known. And how constantly, 
patiently, and carefully, did He reiterate that 
lesson. 

They tell us that Jehovah was understood to 
be one of many tribal deities, each nation having 
one or more. How does that consist with such 
words as these: " Behold, the heaven and the 
heaven of heavens is the Lord's thy God, the 
earth also, with all that therein is " (Deut. 10: 
14). There is no possible room left for any other 
god, save indeed the demons who, under Satan's 
leadership and guidance, preside in the heathen 
deities' worship. " The things which the Gentiles 
sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons, and not to God " 
(1 Cor. 10: 20). 

Where could a man or people, surrounded by 



The Mercy-seat 269 

the idolatries of Egypt, have received such in- 
structions as these : "Take ye therefore good 
heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of 
similitude on the day that the Lord spake unto 
you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire ; lest ye 
corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven im- 
age, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of 
male or female, the likeness of any beast that is 
on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that 
flieth in the air, the likeness of anything that 
creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish 
that is in the waters beneath the earth; and lest 
thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when 
thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, 
even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven 
to worship them, and serve them, which the 
Lord thy God hath divided unto all nations under 
the whole heaven" (Deut. 4: 15-19). 

The last clause of the passage just quoted has 
been perverted by " higher criticism " to teach 
that Moses thought God gave the host of heaven 
to all nations to be their gods, while unperverted 
minds readily understand that as luminaries they 
were the common portion of all, God's creation, 
witnessing of His power and care to all mankind. 
What blindness it is to see otherwise ! 

The ark, then, and the mercy-seat, with the 
attendant cherubim, were not idols, but they 
emphasized the spirituality of that all-glorious 
Being who fills heaven and earth, and yet had 



270 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

come to dwell among His people and manifest 
Himself to them, where there was faith to ap- 
prehend Him. 

Upon the top of the ark, as we have seen, was 
a crown of gold, which seems to have answered 
a two-fold purpose ; of beauty for the ark, and 
for securely holding the mercy-seat in its place. 
This crown of gold fittingly represents our Lord 
now glorified. "We see Jesus . . . crowned 
with glory and honor" (Heb. 2:9). With divine 
delight has His God and Father glorified Him 
who for His sake suffered reproach (Ps. 69: 7), 
and now faith sees Him whose "visage was so 
marred more than any man, and His form more 
than the sons of men," in all the beauty, majesty 
and glory of heaven. It is God's declaration that 
He has accepted the work of redemption so 
graciously undertaken and so perfectly accom- 
plished by our Lord. He who offered Himself as 
a propitiatory sacrifice for sinners upon the cross, 
who was as the sin-offering forsaken of God, and 
left, as it were, in the outer darkness, has been 
placed upon the throne of glory. Thus the crown 
leads us to the significance of the mercy-seat. 

The mercy-seat was of pure gold. The word 
"pure" (used of metals, and of moral purity as 
well — Prov. 15:26; Jer. 33 : 8) is to show that there 
was no alloy in it; nothing is mingled with what 
must meet the demands of divine glory. It reminds 
us that no human thoughts can intrude where 



The Mercy-seat 271 

44 all things are of God " (2 Cor. 5 : 18) — His word, 
His will, His glory alone can prevail, though in 
His infinite patience it may seem otherwise for a 
time. Whatever the mercy-seat stands for, it 
must be divine and eternal. 

The word is not literally " mercy-seat," but 
44 covering." In the ark, it will be remembered, 
we had no mention of a covering. Our ever- 
blessed Lord needed none; all was open to His 
Father's eyes, and He delighted to have it so. 
Into the pure depths of that perfect heart Omni- 
science could look and see nothing but what re- 
sponded to the divine will; fit abode indeed for 
the law of a holy God. Only such an One could 
be the basis of a divine 44 covering" for those 
who needed it. 

44 Covering," however, would not be a fair 
rendering of the word kapporeth without further 
explanation. It is derived from the third voice, 
or intensive form, of the Hebrew verb 44 to cover." 
It thus suggests the thought of an intensive or 
complete, effectual, eternal covering; and this, 
coupled with the gold of which it was made, de- 
clares it to be a divine covering. Man's thought 
of a covering is concealment; God's is by atone- 
ment: 44 He that covereth his sins shall not pros- 
per" (Prov. 28: 13). 44 When I kept silence, my 
bones waxed old ... I acknowledged my sin 
unto Thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid " 
(Ps. 32: 3, 5). For such an one God provides a 



272 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

perfect and eternal covering. To the returning 
prodigal saying, "I have sinned," the Father 
replies, " Bring forth the best robe, and put it on 
him " (Luke 15: 21, 22). This thought of cover- 
ing is very full, and requires further, careful 
attention. 

The law, as we have seen, was put into the 
ark. Its principles of absolute righteousness, 
Godward and manward, were the characteristics 
of the throne of God. " The righteous Lord lov- 
eth righteousness; " and this righteousness must 
act in absolute impartiality toward every son of 
Adam. Thus, " His eyes behold, His eyelids try 
the children of men " — He "trieth the righteous," 
and " upon the wicked He shall rain snares, fire 
and brimstone " (Ps. 11 : 4-7). The law can only 
declare that which is true and right. Thus it 
pronounces upon the guilt of all men: " There- 
fore by the deeds of the law there shall no 
flesh be justified in His sight: for by the law is 
the knowledge of sin" (Rom. 3 : 20). Having 
proved man to be a sinner, the law can only pro- 
ceed to pronounce the sentence upon him : "Cur- 
sed is every one that continueth not in all things 
which are written in the book of the law to do 
them" (Gal. 3 : 10). Thus guilty, and under the 
curse, man but waits for the just sentence of the 
law to be executed: "Whosoever was not found 
written in the book of life was cast into the lake 
of fire " (Rev. 20: 15). 



The Mercy-seat 273 

Such is the inevitable doom of all men accord- 
ing to the sentence of God's holy law. The only 
One who could stand before God on the basis of 
having perfectly kept His law was our Lord Jesus. 
He could have been justified by the law abso- 
lutely, and, enthroned upon it, could have pro- 
nounced the just doom of all the human race. 
Did He do this ? No, blessed be His name ! In- 
stead of being the executioner of the law, He 
bared His spotless bosom to the sword of justice. 
Without blemish and spot, thus qualified to be 
the Substitute, with infinite value, for our guilty 
race, He lets the law do all its righteous work 
upon Himself instead of upon the guilty: "Christ 
hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, 
being made a curse for us; for it is written, Cur- 
sed is every one that hangeth on a tree " (Gal. 3 : 
13). He not only had the law in His heart, but 
He opened His heart also for the sword of right- 
eousness: " For the transgression of My people 
was He stricken " (Isa. 53 : 8). Marvel of love 
divine ! — the same Bosom holds the law unbroken, 
and receives the penalty for its having been 
broken by man. The storm of wrath having 
spent itself upon Him, the law can no longer 
curse the sinner who takes refuge in Jesus. 

Here then we have the true Mercy-seat — a 
divine, righteous, and eternal covering for the 
law of God and for the guilty but believing sin- 
ner. " God hath set Him forth to be a propitia- 



274 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

tion (literally, mercy-seat) through faith in His 
blood, to declare His righteousness for the re- 
mission of sins that are past (of a past dispensa- 
tion) through the forbearance of God: to declare, 
I say, at this time His righteousness: that He 
might be just, and the justifier of him which be- 
lieveth in Jesus" (Rom. 3 : 25, 26). It will be 
noticed that this passage is in close connection 
with the one showing how impossible it is for 
man to be justified by the law (ver. 20). Thus 
we have the tables of the law covered by the 
divine mercy-seat. 

These truths are emphasized by the dimen- 
sions of the mercy-seat — 2^ x ij^ cubits; or, as 
we have already seen (page 242), in the propor- 
tion of 5 and 3. Five speaks of responsibility as 
perfectly met by our Lord Jesus, and three of 
divine fulness and manifestation. How perfectly 
is every divine requirement met in this pro- 
pitiatory, and how the glory of the triune God 
is revealed in it! So that God is now for the be- 
liever, instead of being against him, and this 
according to all His attributes. 

The mercy-seat being of the same measure as 
the ark, covered it exactly. There was no part 
uncovered; the law was completely hidden from 
view. In a very real sense it could not act against 
the people, although they had broken it. Is there 
not a suggestion of the need of this covering in 
the account of the return of the ark from the 



The Mercy-seat 275 

Philistines' land, already briefly alluded to ? The 
men of Beth-shemesh irreverently looked into the 
ark, doubtless by lifting the mercy-seat (i Sam. 
6: 19), and the Lord smote them for it. They 
removed the divine covering and, so to speak, 
the law acted directly upon them. It is some- 
times taught that, though not under the law as a 
ground of justification, believers are under it as 
a rule of life. This holy action of God at Beth- 
shemesh is against this, and shows that "as 
many as are of the works of the law are under 
the curse" (Gal. 3 : 10). The law knows no dis- 
tinction among men. It is God's righteous de- 
mand for a perfect obedience in man ; if that is 
not rendered, it can only pronounce a curse. 

Nor does this mean the slightest provision for 
the flesh, or a careless walk. "Sin shall not 
have dominion over you, for ye are not under 
law but under grace " (Rom. 6 : 14). As the 
apostle declares, "I through the law am dead to 
the law, that I might live unto God" (Gal. 2 : 19). 
To live unto God is surely not unholiness. "What 
the law could not do, in that it was weak through 
the flesh, God sending His own Son in the like- 
ness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin 
in the flesh ; that the righteousness (literally, 
righteous requirements, /. N. D.'s Version) of 
the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not 
after the flesh, but after the Spirit" (Rom. 8: 3, 
4). Thus the righteousness contemplated by the 



276 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

law, but which the flesh would not render, is now 
secured by the Spirit, through grace. This is a 
subject of great importance, and we have only 
touched upon it, but we pass on to our more 
immediate theme. 

We have already had occasion to refer briefly 
to the cherubim, both upon the curtains and the 
veil, and on the mercy-seat, but have deferred 
taking up their significance as shown in Scrip- 
ture until this point. 

As already seen, the cherubim were beaten 
out of one piece with the mercy-seat. That 
would suggest that they embody the same truths 
as are presented in that covering, looked at how- 
ever from a different point of view. We will first 
look at a number of passages where the cherubim 
are spoken of.* 

* With regard to the meaning of the word cherub, cherubim, 
authorities differ greatly. It has been suggested that it is de- 
rived from a word meaning "to prohibit from a common use," 
hence "to consecrate ; " the word would then mean a guard, 
or keeper. Another thought has been that of "one permitted 
to draw near." Still otheis have connected it with "griffins," 
derived from a Persian word meaning to grasp or hold, as 
guardians of treasure. It has been thought to be derived 
from a root meaning "to ride," suggesting a chariot, in expla- 
nation of Psalm 18 : 10, 11. One suggests a derivation from the 
word "to engrave," as being particularly characteristic of these 
figures, and would thus connect them with the Greek and Latin 
words "to write." But it must be remembered that the en- 
graved form was but the expression of what already had an 
existence, and to give a name to the delineation of an object 
rather than the object itself, is unnatural. Lastly, it has been 



The Mercy-seat 277 

" He placed at the east of the garden of Eden 
cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned 
every way, to keep the way of the tree of life " 
(Gen. 3 : 24). Here, then, the cherubim were 
guardians to keep man from that which he had 
forfeited, the right to the tree of life. While it 
is not said that the sword was in the hand of the 
cherubim, their being mentioned so closely to- 
gether would identify their purpose. The angel 
of the Lord with the drawn sword who withstood 
Balaam (Num. 22 : 23), and the bringer of the 
pestilence upon Israel for David's sin in number- 
ing the people (1 Chron. 21 : 16), are both sug- 
gestive of this work of the cherubim at the gate 
of Eden, and may furnish a further clue to their 
interpretation, 

"And when Moses was gone into the taber- 
nacle of the congregation to speak with Him, 
then he heard the voice of One speaking unto 
him from off the mercy-seat that was upon the 



suggested that it is compounded of two words, meaning "As 
pleaders, " or " adversaries. ' ' This last is a possible derivation, 
and accords well with the evident significance of the cherubim. 
But I hesitate to pronounce definitely in view of so many sug- 
gestions, and would narrow them down to the last one, and 
that from the word " to approach " — " those who have access, " 
and thus who are guardians of the Divine presence. It is strik- 
ing that we have them referred to so early in the Scriptures, 
as though well known; and it would seem that we can gather 
their meaning more readily from their work than from the sig- 
nificance of their names. 



278 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

ark of testimony, from between the two cheru- 
bim " (Num. 7: 89). This was in accord with the 
promise, "And there I will meet with thee, and 
I will commune with thee from above the mercy- 
seat, from between the two cherubim which are 
upon the ark of the testimony " (Ex. 25 : 22). 
Thus the two cherubim formed the sides or sup- 
ports of the throne of God, who is described as 
"dwelling between the cherubim " (2 Sam. 6: 2). 
God was addressed there by Hezekiah when he 
prayed for deliverance from the Assyrians(2 Kings 
19: 15). See also Psalm 99: 1, "The Lord reign- 
eth: let the people tremble : He sitteth between 
the cherubim; let the earth be moved." We seem 
co have this translated for us in Psalm 97: 1, 2: 
44 The Lord reigneth; let the earth rejoice; let 
the multitude of isles be glad thereof. Clouds 
and darkness are round about Him: righteous- 
ness and judgment are the habitation (more lit- 
erally, foundation) of His throne." The cheru- 
bim seem clearly to represent the divine attri- 
butes of righteousness and its execution in judg- 
ment, which is the basis of all true government, 
human or divine, the only guarantee of the sta- 
bility of that which is beneath its sway. The 
throne of iniquity can have no fellowship with 
the God of righteous judgment (Ps. 94 : 20). 
Therefore God will overturn until the righteous 
Ruler comes who loveth righteousness and hat- 
eth iniquity (Ezek. 21: 27; Ps. 45 : 6, 7). Such 



The Mercy-seat 279 

a throne alone can be " forever and ever; M and 
this Ruler is the Melchizedek, " King of right- 
eousness and King of peace," David's Son and 
yet his Lord, who sits at God's right hand till 
His enemies are made His footstool (Ps. no: i, 2). 
In view of such a Ruler the people may well 
tremble and bow in heart to Him in the day of 
His grace ere His judgment falls; and yet when 
He takes His power to reign, the earth shall re- 
joice and be glad. For Him His whole creation 
waits in hope, for then will the children of God 
be manifested in their liberty of glory, and crea- 
tion be delivered from its present bondage (Rom. 
8: 21, 22). 

The primary thought of the cherubim con- 
veyed by these scriptures, then, is that of sup- 
ports or guardians of the throne of God in His 
absolute righteousness and judgment. We get 
the same thought in a different connection in 
the 18th psalm, where David celebrates his de- 
liverance from all his enemies, particularly from 
Saul. From His holy temple, where David's 
prayer was heard, God appeared for his deliver- 
ance. The earth trembled as its Maker came 
forth for His beloved one's deliverance — type of 
the true King, who was subjected to all the 
hatred of ungodly men. "And He rode upon a 
cherub and did fly: yea, He did fly upon the 
wings of the wind " (Ps. 18: 10). It is as though 
the King eternal left for the time His place in 



280 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

His sanctuary, and appeared for the judgment of 
His enemies. The expression, "He rode upon a 
cherub and did fly," seems to explain a phrase 
used of the mercy-seat: "And gold for the pat- 
tern of the chariot of the cherubim, that spread 
out their wings, and covered the ark of the cove- 
nant of the Lord" (i Chron. 28: 18). Here the 
throne suggests the chariot upon which Jehovah 
rides in connection with the cherubim, who bear 
Him on, as it were, in resistless power throughout 
His creation. 

This brings us to a similar passage where this 
thought is enlarged, in Ezekiel 1 : 4-28. The ter- 
rible majesty of God is seen in the cloud and the 
devouring fire, and the brightness of His glory 
(ver. 4). In connection with this the "living 
creatures " appear — four of them, not two. These 
are described with considerable minuteness; they 
had the likeness of a man (ver. 5), which sug- 
gests intelligence, but with four faces — of a man, 
a lion, an ox, and an eagle. These four faces 
suggest: intelligence in the human face; fearless 
authority in the lion; strength in the ox; and 
swift, heavenly flight in the eagle. The feet, 
"like the soles of a calf's foot," would suggest 
stability, and the hands of a man and the eyes 
upon the wheels show the predominance of intelli- 
gence rather than mere power. The wings suggest 
their heavenly character, and in that way would 
remind us of the angels "that excel in strength, 



The Mercy-seat 281 

that do His commandments, hearkening- unto the 
voice of His word" (Ps. 103 : 20). "The living 
creatures ran and returned as the appearance of 
a flash of lightning" (ver. 14) — " His ministers a 
flame of fire " — instantaneous and swift obedience 
to the control of the Spirit (ver. 12). Then the 
wheels are described — those awful symbols of the 
resistless power of God rolling on in their course 
— high unto heaven, and bearing upon them the 
throne and Him who sat upon it, "the likeness 
as of the appearance of a Man above upon it " 
(ver. 26).* 

Here we have in divine detail "the chariot of 
the cherubim," the chariot on which the almighty 
Jehovah goes forth in His government and judg- 
ment. Here the throne is in motion, passing with 
resistless majesty from place to place of His wide 

* The rings of the wheels " were so high that they were dread- 
ful " (Ezek. 1 : 18). God's vast unmeasured creation may be 
described as wheels. The earth itself, and all the heavenly 
bodies, are spherical, and their movements are circular. Of the 
immensity of their orbits it is difficult to speak in language 
which our finite minds can grasp. The orbit of the earth is 
nearly 200 million of miles in diameter ; that of Neptune, the 
most distant planet in our solar system, over five billion miles. 
But the whole solar system evidently has an orbit of unknown 
immensity. Thus system after system revolves about other 
centres — wheels within wheels — all in perfect harmony, and all 
carrying forward His perfect will who is God over all. In the 
presence of this immensity human history is too brief as it were 
to be measured ; we bow in our puny weakness, and own the 
almighty God — Father, Son and Holy Spirit. 



282 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

creation. Closely linked with this is the transfer 
of the throne from His temple (defiled by sinful 
men to whom its honor had been committed) to 
the chariot, and its removal from Jerusalem and 
the chosen people. Its removal is like when the 
ark went into captivity in the days of Eli, but 
here on a grander scale and a more solemn 
way. 

This vision is again described in the tenth chap- 
ter of Ezekiel, and there the " living creatures" 
are called cherubim; we see the action of judg- 
ment also in the " coals of fire " given by one of 
the cherubim to be cast over the city of Jerusa- 
lem. " Then the glory of the Lord departed 
from off the threshhold of the house, and stood 
over the cherubim " (Ezek. 10: 18), and "Icha- 
bod " was written upon that house where the 
God of Israel had recorded His name. Alas, that 
the heart of man should forsake the fountain of 
living waters ! 

There may be a suggestion in the fact that in 
the description of the cherubim, in this tenth 
chapter, instead of mentioning "the face of an 
ox," as in chapter i, it is called "the face of a 
cherub" (ver. 14). The ox, as the chief of the 
creatures in the service of man, would emphasize 
the fact that these cherubim are creatures^ not 
divine. 

We pass next to the solemn passage in the 
prophet Isaiah (chap. 6: 1-8). Here we have 



The Mercy-seat 283 

seraphim* and not cherubim; their employment 
is worship rather than judgment: " Holy, holy, 
holy is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full 
of His glory" (ver. 3). In the presence of this 
unutterable glory, the prophet is abased to the 
very dust; he cries, " Woe is me, for I am un- 
done." But it is the holiness of love, whose 
judgment for sin has already been visited upon 
Another; for the live coal from off the altar 
speaks of a fire which has fed upon the sacrifice 
and the incense upon it; the live coal touches the 
unclean lips (as of a leper, see Lev. 13: 45) and 
purges away all iniquity. 

In the book of the New Testament symbols 
(Revelation 4 : 6-8), we have the characteristic 
features of the cherubim and seraphim combined. 
Like the former, they are described severally as 
lion, calf, man and eagle, and like the latter, they 
ascribe worship to the triune God. Like the 
cherubim too they are connected with the judg- 
ments to be inflicted upon the earth (Rev. 6: 
1, etc.). 

From the scriptures we have considered we 
conclude that these figures are symbols of God's 

* The etymology of seraphim is disputed, though it seems 
clearly to be derived from one of two roots : " to burn," and 
" to be great, noble." If the former meaning is taken, we 
would have the suggestion of devouring fire ; and if the latter, 
the thought seems to be of princely dignity — "principalities 
and powers" (Eph. 3: 10), or archangels (Jude 9). 



284 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

intelligent creatures, for they give Him worship; 
that they are endowed with untold powers, for 
they go and return with the speed of the light- 
ning; that they are closely connected with His 
governmental throne, and with the judicial exe- 
cution of the righteous judgment of that throne. 
But let us look a little more closely at these facts. 

We cannot think of them as being symbolic 
figures merely of divine attributes, for we could 
not conceive of God being worshiped by His own 
attributes, or of their being veiled with wings in 
His presence. It is only conscious personal 
beings who could thus present their adoration to 
Him. And yet these beings are identified in their 
office with the execution of divine righteousness. 
We must beware of intruding into those things 
which we have not seen among which is a "re- 
ligion of angels " (Col. 2: 18); but this does not 
debar us from gathering all that God has been 
pleased to reveal to us. 

Both Old and New Testaments abound with 
passages referring to the existence, personality 
and ministry of angels. They are called literally 
" messengers " — for this is the significance of the 
word both in Hebrew and Greek — -and no doubt 
is left that they are heavenly messengers. Their 
estate is heavenly (see Gal. 1: 8; 2 Thess. 1:7); 
and they are there as worshipers and servants of 
God (Job 1: 6; 38: 7; 1 Kings 22: 19). This last 
passage would almost suggest the position of the 



The Mercy-seat 285 

cherubim: " I saw the Lord sitting on His throne, 
and all the host of heaven standing by Him on 
His right hand and on His left " — they are group- 
ed about His throne, ready to do His will. An- 
gels were particularly used in connection with 
errands of mercy and of judgment: to announce 
to Abraham the birth of Isaac, in due time 
(Gen. 18: 2 with Heb. 13: 2); for the rescue of 
Lot out of Sodom (Gen. 19: 1); in ministry upon 
Jacob as he slept (Gen. 28: 12). They were pres- 
ent in great multitudes at Sinai, and gave char- 
acter to the ministration of the law (Ps. 68: 17 
with Acts 7: 53; Heb. 2: 2). 

We have a higher thought in "the Angel of 
the Lord," spoken of frequently (Gen. 16 : 7- 
13; 22: 11, 15; Ex. 3: 2; 23: 20; Judg. 2: 1, etc.), 
and who in a number of cases seems to be iden- 
tical with the Lord Himself, who appears in this 
form, and at other times His representative. 
This is suggestive, and brings us back to the 
thought we have been gathering of the cheru- 
bim. 

The cherubim then seem to have been well 
known as symbolic figures, setting forth in their 
composite forms the blending of all creature 
powers, and in their wings and close relationship 
with the throne of God, their heavenly, angelic 
character. They were thus symbols of the host 
of heaven, the angels, ministers of divine judg- 
ment and justice, associated with God as His ser- 



286 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

vants in His government of the world. As such, 
they are His representatives, vested with His 
authority and, so far as needed, with His power. 
(See Matt. 13: 39, 41; 25 : 31; Mark 8 : 38, etc.) 
They are not the objects of worship, but are 
themselves worshipers. But, as engaged in His 
service, they are His representatives, and there- 
fore accompanied with the majesty which is part 
of the display of the presence of God Himself.* 

That there were upon the mercy-seat two of 
these figures would suggest competent witness 
to God's holiness, righteousness and goodness. 
We see them here with their faces turned toward 
the mercy-seat, and their wings hovering over it, 
We are reminded of this attitude by a passage in 
1 Peter 1 : 12, " Which things the angels desire to 
look into." It is as though they were gazing in 
wonder and worship upon the cover of the ark, 

*In Ezekiel, as we have seen, the cherubim of judgment are 
prominent in their association with the throne of God. In the 
28th chapter we have mention of another, "the anointed cherub 
that covereth " (chap. 28: 14). The description is that of the 
"King of Tyrus," type of this world's splendor and power, 
and man as its ruler. But, as has been pointed out by others, 
the true ruler of this world, its " prince," is Satan ( Jno. 14: 30), 
and there are remarkable expressions here which would suggest 
superhuman dignity and privilege, and a more than human 
Ml : ' ' Tny heart was lifted up because of thy beauty : thou 
hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness " (ver. 
17 1. Such was the fall through pride of him who, as one of the 
chief o* God's clotures, would have been associated in judgment 
and rul^ with his Creator. 



The Mercy-seat 287 

the mercy-seat. This, as we have seen, covered 
the tables of the law; so it was not at these the 
cherubim were gazing. They had been associ- 
ated with the promulgation of the law amid the 
thick darkness, lightnings and thunderings of 
Sinai, ready to take vengeance for " every 
transgression and disobedience." But it is the 
blood upon the mercy-seat that fixes the 
gaze of these ministers of justice and judg- 
ment — the blood of the sacrifice sprinkled there 
on the great Day of Atonement (Lev. 16 : 14). 
The blood speaks of judgment already visited 
upon the Substitute, and it arrests the adoring 
gaze of these holy servants of God. Instead of fly- 
ing with the speed of the wind or like the light- 
ning flash upon the enemies of God, they bend 
with adoring worship upon that which speaks of 
" righteousness and peace having kissed each 
other" (Ps. 85: 10). 

And well may the angels gaze upon that Sacri- 
fice! There every attribute of God's character 
shines forth: His righteousness, for He has me- 
ted out the full penalty for man's sin; His love, 
for here is His gift to a lost world; His wisdom, 
for none but God could have devised the won- 
drous plan. 

Like the cherubim, we adoringly gaze upon 
this wondrous sight. We remember that "the 
bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought 
into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin. are 



288 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

burned without the camp. Wherefore Jesus 
also, that He might sanctify the people with His 
own blood, suffered without the gate. Let us go 
forth therefore unto Him without the camp, 
bearing His reproach" (Heb. 13: 11-13). The 
place of greatest distance, where the victim was 
consumed, brings us in greatest nearness to the 
throne of God : — the blood of the victim which was 
burned outside the camp, is brought into the sanct- 
uary of God. Christ " suffered without the gate " 
— not merely without the city of Jerusalem, nor 
as rejected by the Jews alone — but upon the 
shameful cross as upon a gallows, cast out by the 
whole world, suffering a malefactor's death — 
Himself the only perfect and sinless Man who 
ever walked this earth. But even this does not 
give the full depth of the meaning of that 
outside place. He was there forsaken of God 
(Matt. 27 : 46) ; the wrath of God was poured out 
upon Him when He was made a " curse: "the 
" cup " of wrath was emptied! Oh, the depth of 
love and mercy to man in that cross — the Sin- 
less goes without the gate! 

The blood upon the mercy-seat declares that 
God has accepted the sacrifice of the Substitute. 
The value of that blood is linked eternally with 
the throne, with its righteousness and judgment. 

Thus the material of the mercy-seat, and the 
crown about the ark, speaking of divine glory 
and Christ enthroned there, agree with the sig- 



The Mercy-seat 289 

nificance of the blood upon the mercy-seat and 
the adoring gaze of the ministers of justice and 
judgment. All unites to declare the value of that 
44 eternal redemption'' which Christ has found 
(Heb. 9: 12). It also shows the consistency of the 
type and its divine truth, It gives us a glimpse 
too of the preeminent thought of redemption in 
God's mind from the beginning, which shall be 
the centre of the redeemed heavenly throng, for 
" in the midst of the throne " stands the " Lamlj 
as it had been slain " (Rev. 5:6). 

Here indeed is the "propitiatory," the everlast 
ing meeting-place between God and His creation. 
How otherwise could a guilty sinner approach 
Him who is " of purer eyes than to behold evil ? " 
Yet by faith in Christ, whose blood has made 
propitiation for sin, the repentant sinner can draw 
near and claim with grateful heart that which 
divine love indeed presses upon him. No fear 
on the sinner's part; no wrath on God's part! 
The law, with its two-fold witness against man, 
is magnified and made honorable, its righteous 
judgment having been borne by the Lamb of 
sacrifice. Thus God dwells, and will forever dwell, 
amid the praises of His blood-bought people (Ps. 
22: 3). 

Pursuing this thought of the ark as coffer a 
little further, we can think of it as the treasury 
of God, with boundless stores of wealth for His 
people. It speaks of Christ in whom " dwelleth 



290 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

all the fulness of the Godhead bodily" (Col. 2: 
9). To Him "who giveth to all men liberally, 
and upbraideth not," we can come for all that 
is included in that unmeasured expression, "the 
love of Christ which passeth knowledge " (Eph. 
3: 19). And this supply is for the need of the 
way, as the epistle of the sanctuary tells us : 
" Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne 
of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find 
grace to help in time of need" (Heb. 4: 16). And 
does it not elevate and sanctify all God's mercies 
when the heart realizes that all is the purchase 
of and connected with the precious blood of 
Christ? Thus God teaches us to reason: "He 
that spared not His own Son, but delivered 
Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him 
also freely give us all things ? " (Rom. 8: 32). 

The mercy-seat was, and is, the place of com- 
munion. "There will I meet with thee, and I 
will commune with thee from above the mercy- 
seat " (Ex. 25: 22). Here then He makes known 
by His Word and Spirit His will — the revelation 
of His love and grace, His holiness and majesty. 
Of the divine holiness of this place Scripture 
gives unequivocal testimony. The awful majesty 
of God and His perfect holiness have not changed 
since He bade Moses and Joshua remove their 
shoes from off their feet (Ex. 3:5; Josh. 5: 15). 
May the same grace which has provided such a 
meeting-place control our whole being, and keep 



The Mercy-seat 291 

us from the blasphemy of linking that holy name 
and place with a careless, unjudged state. It is 
thus that Satan would corrupt the most priceless 
blessings, and turn the very grace of God into a 
means to work his ends; his judgment will come, 
and so will that of all who wilfully abuse the 
mercy of God (Heb. 10 : 26). " Wherefore we 
receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let 
us have grace whereby we may serve God ac- 
ceptably with reverence and godly fear: for our 
God is a consuming fire M (Heb. 12: 28, 29). 

But this is not to deter the lowly soul, no mat- 
ter how great its sense of unworthiness, from 
this throne of grace. It is ever that; and even 
the power truly to judge our own state and ways 
comes from God. And this throne of grace is a 
safe place — "that no flesh should glory in His 
presence." Satan meets One there who silences 
every charge — our "Advocate with the Father" 
(1 Jno. 2:1; Zech. 3: 1-4); and there the world 
and its lusts are estimated at their true value, 
where the joy of the Father's love is the known 
portion of the soul forever. 



LECTURE XIII 

The Table 

(Ex. 37: 10-16.) 

WE pass now to the furniture of the holy 
place. In the Holiest, the ark with its 
mercy-seat stood alone, except on the day of 
atonement, when the high-priest brought in the 
golden censer. But in the holy place was the 
table of show-bread, the altar of incense and the 
golden candlestick. We now turn to the first of 
these.* 

There are four features of the table, the sig 
nificance of which will give us largely the mean- 
ing of the whole : the materials of which it was 
made, its dimensions, its form and its uses. 

The materials were acacia wood overlaid with 
pure gold. The dimensions were two cubits in 
length, one cubit in breadth, one and a half 
cubits in height: this was also the height of the 
ark, whose other two dimensions were greater 
than those of the table by half a cubit. 

The table had a crown of gold of a hand- 
breadth about it, next to an offset or border; then 
another crown of gold. So there were two crowns, 
separated by the border. 

* The word for " table" is shulhan, from a root meaning to 
send, to stretch out, extend — an object with capacity for the 
food placed upon it. The same word is Siloam in John 9, 
which the inspired Evangelist tells us means ' 'sent. ' ' 



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The Table 293 

There were also four golden rings "upon the 
four corners that were in the four feet (legs ?) 
thereof; over against (close by) the border were 
the rings." Into these, two staves of acacia 
wood overlaid with gold were passed, for carry- 
ing the table through the wilderness. 

The purpose of the table is given in connec- 
tion with the directions for preparing the weekly 
"showbread" which was to be placed upon it 
(Lev. 24: 5-9). Twelve loaves made each of two 
tenth dep.ls of fine flour, were placed in two rows 
upon the " pure table " overlaid with pure gold. 
Pure frankincense was put upon these, and this 
presentation was renewed each week. It was 
this use which gave it its name: "the table of 
showbread " (Num. 4 : 7). 

In connection with the table, for use upon it, 
were the various vessels of pure gold — "his 
dishes and his spoons, and his bowls, and his cov- 
ers to cover withal " (ver. 16). It is thought that 
this last clause would be more correctly trans- 
lated, "flagons to pour out withal." The "dishes" 
may have been to contain the bread ; the ' * spoons " 
to contain the frankincense (such were offered 
by the princes at the dedication of the altar, 
Num. 7: 14, etc.). The "bowls" were perhaps 
for receiving the drink offerings poured out of 
the " flagons." At these we may look later. 

The significance of the materials of which the 
table was made — acacia wood overlaid with gold 



294 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

— have already been before us in the ark and the 
boards, but we will look briefly at them again in 
connection with the uses of the table. The nat- 
ural suggestion of a " table " is a place for food, 
and the food upon it. " Thou preparest a table 
before me in the presence of mine enemies " 
(Ps. 23: 5). We will find this thought of food 
linked with our Lord's person in the 6th chapter 
of John: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses 
gave you not that bread from heaven; but My 
Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. 
For the bread of God is He which cometh down 
from heaven, and giveth life unto the world" 
(Jno. 6: 32, 33). The One who "came down 
from heaven " reminds us of the deity of our 
Lord ; this is the gold. 

" I am the living bread which came down from 
heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall 
live forever: and the bread that I will give is 
My flesh, which I will give for the life of the 
world. The Jews therefore strove among them- 
selves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh 
to eat ? Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, 
I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son 
of Man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in 
you" (Jno. 6: 51-53). Evidently our Lord here 
is speaking of His death. But His death pre- 
supposes His incarnation. He must become man 
that He may die. We have in this way the two- 
fold truth of our Lord's deity and His humanity 



The Table 295 

linked together and put before us in this chap- 
ter, where He is presented as the Bread of life. 
We have thus the gold and the acacia wood which 
form the table. 

As to the dimensions of the table, its height 
was one and a half cubits — the same as that of 
the ark. This would suggest that the bread of 
communion is on the same level as the propitia- 
tory, or mercy-seat. Fellowship with God is with 
Christ,, and must therefore be on the same plane 
as the value of His redemption. 

But what a thought is this ! God has come 
down in the person of His Son, "reconciling the 
world unto Himself, not imputing their tres- 
passes unto them " (2 Cor. 5 : 19). To fully effect 
the work needed for this reconciliation the blessed 
Lord came down as the Bread from heaven, and 
lower than the manger at Bethlehem — unmeas- 
ured distance as that was ; lower than the humble 
abode at Nazareth, or the homeless walk where 
He did not have where to lay His head; lower 
than the place where they put Him, who branded 
Him as a Samaritan or one possessed of a demon 
(Jno. 8: 48); lower even than a human malefac- 
tor; for He descended to the place of distance 
from God, forsaken of Him — "made sin for us," 
He who knew no sin (2 Cor. 5: 21)! 

"The depth of all Thy suffering 
No heart could e'er conceive." 

But the response of Almighty God to all this 



296 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

was in raising Him up from the dead, and giving 
Him glory (i Pet. i: 21); yea, He has taken His 
place "at the right hand of the majesty on high " 
(Heb. 1:3). This answers to His place above the 
mercy-seat, the throne of God, where is also the 
witness of the blood of the everlasting covenant. 

But in this exalted place, He is not there for 
Himself alone ; He is the representative of His 
people. Unto such heights of acceptance has He 
raised His blood-bought people, who are before 
God according to all the value of Christ Himself 
and His finished work. Speaking of this accept- 
ance in Christ the apostle says : ' ' But God, who is 
rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He 
loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath 
quickened us together with Christ (by grace ye 
are saved), and hath raised us up together, and 
made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ 
Jesus " (Eph. 2 : 4-6). The table of acceptance 
is as high as the Ark. This is the basis of our 
communion. 

Such is the perfection of the work, as meas- 
ured by the position of our blessed Lord and of 
God's mercy in the quickening of souls. May we 
be enabled to respond in a practical way to His 
thoughts, entering into them by faith, and en- 
joying on His own plane "fellowship with the 
Father and His Son Jesus Christ" (1 Jno. 1: 3). 
This means, indeed, " no confidence in the flesh. " 
We may go more fully into the practical feature? 



The Table 297 

of communion when we have learned some fur- 
ther lessons as to the table. 

We have already suggested these dimensions 
may be looked at not only singly, but in their 
relation with each other. Taken singly, the two 
cubits of length might suggest fellowship, com- 
munion; and the one in breadth, of the unity 
which is the characteristic of all true fellowship, 
a divine unity in the truth. This indeed cuts 
away all false ideas of what fellowship is. 

But if we look at the proportions of the table 
we find them stated thus: 2x1x1^; or, by en- 
larging the scale, 4x2x3. Thus we have the 
factors 2 in width, 3 in height, and 4 in length. 
The two, we have already seen, speaks of fellow- 
ship: "Can two walk together except they be 
agreed ? " (Amos 3:3). Three is the number of 
divine fulness and manifestation, and has its 
place at the table where God is manifested in 
Christ, "in whom dwelleth all the fulness of 
the Godhead bodily " (Col. 2:9). " The grace of 
the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and 
the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you 
all" (2 Cor. 13 : 14): here we have the Trinity of 
God connected with the thought of communion. 
Four is the number of the creature, and thus re- 
calls the fact that the basis of fellowship is the 
Man Christ Jesus. Four also speaks of this 
world, the wilderness, with its trials and sorrows, 
manifesting often the weakness and failure of 



298 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

the saints; but even here God spreads a table in 
the wilderness. Thus two speaks of communion, 
three of the Persons with whom we have commun- 
ion, and four of the place where (outwardly) the 
communion is had. 

As to the form of the table, there were certain 
characteristics in the two crowns and the border 
that demand our attention. We saw that the 
" crown " upon the ark not only beautified it, but 
furnished a secure framework in which the mercy- 
seat rested, and by which it was held in per- 
fect safety in its place. In a similar way the 
crown around the table might serve not only as 
an adornment, but to guard the showbread from 
slipping off it. The crown, we have said, typified 
" Jesus, crowned with glory and honor" (Heb. 
2:9). It is Christ in the place which He has won 
by His work upon the earth: " I have glorified 
Thee on the earth, I have finished the work 
which Thou gavest Me to do." He therefore 
continues in perfect confidence to address His 
Father: " And now, O Father, glorify Thou Me 
with Thine own self with the glory which I had 
with Thee before the world was " (Jno. 17:4, 5). 

That suggests the reason why the crown was 
all of gold. It is the divine glory which He ever 
had with the Father, but into which He enters, as 
it were, upon a new ground, that of the Substi- 
tute of His blood-bought people, whose redemp- 
tion He had accomplished according to the 



The Table 299 

Father's will. This was the work given Him to 
do, and thus to manifest God's Name in a world 
which had rebelled against Him, by setting forth 
His holiness, truth, righteousness, mercy and 
love — all combined in the redemption of sinners. 

Thus the divine glory, after His humiliation 
unto death, has a new meaning, shining for the 
universe in a new luster. The character of God 
was ever the same, but it had been maligned by 
Satan, and by men, his willing dupes, so that 
man, created in the image of God, had fallen 
immeasurably below even the beast, for he used 
his God-given intellect for purposes of sin. There 
is no degradation upon earth like that of fallen 
man. And so the glory of God could not shine 
in His own world, save where His pre-determin- 
ing grace manifested itself partially in the seed 
of faith. (See Heb. n.) These were, however, 
but partial glimpses of that which could only be 
fully displayed in the Son. 

" Then said He, Lo, I am come to do Thy will, 
O God" (Heb. 10 : 9). This "coming" may be 
said to include His incarnation, His perfect life 
and service, leading on to the accomplishment of 
God's blessed will by "the offering of the body 
of Jesus Christ once" (ver. 10). "Wherefore 
God also hath highly exalted Him, and given 
Him the name which is above every name ; that 
at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, 
. . . and that every tongue should confess that 



300 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the 
Father" (Phil. 2: 9-1 1). Thus the witness of 
God's glory, throughout the universe, rests upon 
the brow of One who sought no glory for Himself. 
But it is "the glory of 1A.\$> grace" that is sug- 
gested by the loaves of bread held in their place 
by the crown. It is a glorified Christ who main- 
tains His own, according to all that He is. That 
glory is directly and eternally connected, as we 
have seen, with His redeeming work upon the 
cross. In the light of that glory we read: "I 
give unto them eternal life; and they shall never 
perish, neither shall any pluck them out of My 
hand" (Jno. 10 : 28); "Because I live, ye shall 
live also" (14: 19); "Much more, being recon- 
ciled, we shall be saved by His life " (Rom. 5 : 
10). It is His life as risen and glorified that is 
here meant. Everything is now connected with 
the glory of the Lord Jesus — a glory upon which 
He has entered after, and because of, having 
passed through His sufferings unto death. At 
Pentecost the Spirit was given because He was 
glorified* (Acts 2 : 33; see also Jno. 7: 39). The 
healing of the lame man at the gate of the tem- 
ple, Peter ascribes to the power of Jesus glorified: 
"The God of our fathers hath glorified His Son 
Jesus" (Acts 3 : 13). This is what characterizes 
the entire apostolic teaching: a glorified Christ 
is the source of every blessing, and of the power 
which manifests it, through the Holy Spirit. 



The Table 301 

But we shall find further justification of con- 
necting the table and its crown with the security 
of the people of God, if we look at the show- 
bread which was kept constantly upon the table. 
It was called showbread, or " bread of face," as 
suggesting that it was set before the face of God, 
perfectly acceptable to Him. It was also called 
"the continual bread" (Num. 4:7), reminding 
us that it was ever before God; and the "hal- 
lowed bread," speaking of the holiness connected 
with this presentation. It was that which was 
presented before God, as is suggested by the ex- 
pression, "Bread of ordering" (1 Chr. 9 : 32, 
marg.), and " Bread of setting forth, or presenta 
tion" (Heb. 9: 2, Gk.) 

The word rendered "cakes" of showbread, is 
challoth, literally "pierced cakes" — the usual 
word; so called because they were pierced or 
perforated, perhaps to allow quick and thorough 
baking. As these cakes speak of Christ, the 
"piercing " is specially appropriate, not primarily 
His piercing at death — though all pointed for- 
ward to that — but the constant subjection of His 
whole being — His heart, to the heated fire of 
trial here, as well as the searching of God's holy 
word. 

These loaves were made of fine flour, which 
speaks of the perfection of the humanity of our 
Lord, the consistency and uniformity of His 
character. At this we may look a little more in 



302 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

detail when we come to examine the meat-offer- 
ing. Each cake or loaf was made of two tenth 
deals of flour. This was the amount of the meat- 
offering that accompanied the offering of a ram; 
that with the bullock being three tenth deals, 
and with a lamb but one. The ram, as we saw in 
the covering for the tabernacle, signifies the 
consecration or devotedness of our Lord even 
unto death. Thus the fine flour, which speaks of 
His person, fittingly reminds us of Him who was 
absolutely devoted to God, and who now repre- 
sents His people before Him in all the value and 
energy of that devotedness. 

There were twelve of these loaves, which at 
once reminds us of the twelve tribes, composing 
the whole nation of Israel. It was the number 
of national unity, combining with it the thought 
of divine government which was exercised over 
them, and through them (had they been faith- 
ful) over the world. The number reappears in 
the twelve apostles, to whom was entrusted God's 
government in Christianity, and over Israel in 
the millennium (Matt. 19: 28); and in the heav- 
enly city it is a prominent number: twelve gates 
with the names of the twelve tribes; the city 
was of twelve thousand furlongs each way, a per- 
fect cube ; the wall was 144 — twelve times twelve 
cubits; there were twelve foundations of prec- 
ious stones; the tree of life bore twelve manner 
of fruits. We are thus reminded that Israel's 



The Table 303 

blessings are eternal, and that divine govern- 
ment is the essential feature and condition of 
that kingdom which " cannot be moved" (Heb. 
12: 28); and in which creation will be ta,ken up 
and acted upon by God to manifest Himself in 
His perfect holiness and love (4x3). 

These facts give emphasis to the significance 
of the twelve loaves. They represent Israel 
under the control of divine government, and 
therefore marked for eternal blessing. The 
loaves being arranged in two rows, seems to 
suggest the perfect order of all God's govern- 
ment, and the true witness to that which is 
taught in the loaves. They set forth Christ in 
the perfection of His person, and the frank- 
incense upon them tells of His fragrance and 
sweet savor to God; but they also show Christ's 
people in Him, ever before God according to the 
value and fragrance of what the Lord is. They 
are not seen in what they are in themselves, 
which could not be a sweet savor to God, but as 
in Christ, and thus acceptable according to what 
He is before God. Thus in the twelve loaves we 
see not only the perfections of Christ, but of His 
people in Him. 

In the New Testament we have a similar 
thought in the loaf which is upon the Lord's 
table : " The bread which we break, is it not the 
communion of the body of Christ ? For we being 
many are one bread, one body: for we are all 



304 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

partakers of that one bread" (i Cor. 10: 16, 17). 
Here, while the one loaf speaks of the body of 
our Lord, it reminds us of His people who are 
one loaf, one body also, for they partake of the 
one loaf. Thus His people are seen in Him, 
complete and a perfect whole. 

This truth of the unity of the people before 
God is seen to be prominently before the mind 
of God, both in Old and New Testaments. In 
Elijah's day, Israel's national unity had been 
sadly broken outwardly: the ten tribes had re- 
volted from the house of David, and the mass 
were apostate. And yet God's thought of the 
unity of Israel had not changed. Elijah, who is 
seeking to restore the people to God, rebuilds 
the altar of Jehovah which had fallen down: 
"And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the 
number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob , unto 
whom the word of the Lord came, saying, Israel 
shall be thy name : and with the stones he built 
an altar in the name of the Lord " (1 Kings 18 : 

31, 3 2 )- 

This was similar in spirit to the act of Joshua 

in an earlier day, when, at the command of the 
Lord, he set up twelve stones in Jordan where 
Israel passed over, and brought up twelve stones 
from the bed of the river and set them up in the 
camp at Gilgal (Josh. 4: 3-9). These stones rep- 
resent the identification of God's people with 
Christ. The stones in the bed of Jordan were a 



The Table 305 

reminder not only that the Lord arrested the 
stream, but that all Israel passed over; in like 
manner the stones set up in Gilgal were a re- 
minder that all Israel had entered into their 
inheritance. So the death of our Lord Jesus has 
arrested the river of death and judgment, and 
provided a way for His people to pass over into 
their eternal inheritance. His death is typified 
in the twelve stones, but His people are seen in 
Him ; so also in His resurrection they are repre- 
sented, and are joint heirs with Him. Every 
believer can say, "I am crucified with Christ" 
(Gal. 2 : 20); "Buried with Him" (Rom. 6:4); 
"Risen with Christ " (Col. 3:1); and made to 
sit "in heavenly places in Christ Jesus " (Eph. 2 : 
6). And this is true not for some special class 
of believers, but for every believer in the Lord 
Jesus Christ. The full number of the saints is 
provided for, and each one is represented before 
God as identified and associated with Christ. 
This is true, whether the responsible testimony 
is unbroken, as in Joshua's day, or if failure has 
come in, as in the time of Elijah. The Israel of 
God were ever before Him an unbroken whole : 
and so it is with the Church of God, whether in 
the unbroken outward unity of their first love in 
the days of the apostles, or in the "perilous 
times " of the present, when to outward appear- 
ance the Church has been broken in fragments. 
The golden Table (Christ) abides, in all the 



306 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

peerless perfection of His person; and He, th8 
risen and glorified One presents His blood- 
bought people before God as one with, and in, 
Him. Thus His prayer in the 17th chapter of 
John has its answer from the divine side, though, 
alas, outwardly sad failure has brought havoc to 
what should have been a testimony before the 
world. The common life remains, and with it 
that unity before God which is its accompani- 
ment (Jno. 17: 21). 

So faith always goes back to the thoughts of 
God, even in days of ruin. Elijah's altar of twelve 
stones ignores the fact that there are two king- 
doms. It is one Israel before God. The apostle 
Paul, in a day of even more complete dispersion 
when the ten tribes were lost sight of, buried 
among the nations for their idolatry, and the 
Jews settled down into complacent self-righteous- 
ness or blank unbelief, having rejected and cast 
out the Lord of glory, heaping to themselves 
" wrath to the uttermost" (1 Thess. 2: 16) — Paul 
still has the thoughts of God toward them, know- 
ing that " they are not all Israel which are of 
Israel" (Rom. 9:6); he recalls the very times of 
Elijah, how God had reserved seven thousand 
who had not bowed the knee to Baal, and adds, 
"Even so then at the present time there is a 
remnant according to the election of grace " 
(Rom. 11: 4, 5). 

So also, when making his defence before king 



The Table 307 

Agrippa, in speaking of the promise of a resur- 
rection, made to the fathers, he says: "Unto 
which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving 
God day and night, hope to come " (Acts 26 : 7). 
God's eye and faith see the whole elect nation. 
So also when the prophets foretold the day of 
Israel's future glory, the divisions and disper- 
sions intervening were ignored, or triumphed 
over. By the union of two sticks into one, Eze- 
kiel was to show the future reunion of Israel and 
Judah into one nation (Ezek. 37: 16-22); and the 
same prophet makes the fullest provision for the 
partition of the land among the twelve tribes of 
the united nation (Ezek. 48). Thus twelve has 
an unmistakable meaning not only temporarily, 
but in the gifts and calling of God which are 
"without repentance" (Rom. 11: 29). 

Thus the golden crown about the table, and 
the twelve loaves of showbread upon it, suggest 
the completeness in which all God's beloved peo- 
ple are presented to Him in Christ, and main- 
tained before God by the fact that Christ is be- 
fore Him crowned with glory, as their represen- 
tative, thus held fast, so that they can never per- 
ish. We might imagine some over-zealous Levite 
suggesting to the priest the danger of the loaves 
slipping off the table, and devising some plan to 
hold them down more securely. The priest might 
well have replied, "That has already been di- 
vinely provided for: do you not see that crown ? 



308 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

They cannot slip by that." And so to a trem- 
bling believer who fears he may not hold out to 
the end, the reply may well be made, "Do you 
not see that crown ? — ' Jesus crowned with glory 
and honor ? ' " 

We come next to consider the meaning of the 
border of a handbreadth. It has been thought 
by some that this border was outside the first 
crown already described, as a ledge upon which 
the vessels of service could be set; others have 
thought of it as merely an ornamental border set 
perpendicularly to, and upon which the top of the 
table would rest, while it would also act as a 
brace to the whole frame, and to which the feet 
would be attached, with the rings and staves. 

We may not be able to decide as to the exact 
form and position of this border, but suggest 
certain thoughts as to its general meaning. The 
word means, primarily, an enclosure; so a for- 
tress or " close place," as Psalm 18: 45 ; Micah 7 : 
17, where the word is "hole." An enclosure is 
to keep out intruders, as by a wall or some other 
barricade. An enclosure about the table would 
therefore suggest that which would keep off what 
did not belong there. The crown about the 
table has already suggested what would hold the 
loaves securely in their place; this border, or 
"fortress" (also adorned with a crown), would 
suggest the exclusion from the table of all that was 
not consistent with the glory of Christ. Such a 



The Table 309 

border would give firmness and stability to the 
table, both as it stood in the sanctuary, or as it 
was carried through the wilderness. The meas- 
ure of the border being a " handbreadth, " has 
been thought to refer to the divine Hand that is 
upon the table, to mark out and define all accord- 
ing to the glory of God. That divine Hand about 
His table may well speak of almighty power, 
and yet of infinite grace, as having given His 
own Son for us who is now exalted by His right 
hand as Prince and Saviour (Acts 5: 31). 

We may get the suggestion of the "border" 
in the following passage : "Now when he had 
made an end of measuring the inner house, he 
brought me forth toward the gate whose pros- 
pect is toward the east, and measured it round 
about. He measured the east side with the meas- 
uring reed, 500 reeds, with the measuring reed 
round about. He measured the north side, 500 
reeds, with the measuring reed round about. 
He measured the south side, 500 reeds, with the 
measuring reed. He turned about to the west 
side, and measured 500 reeds, with the measur- 
ing reed. He measured it by the four sides: it 
had a wall round about, 500 reeds long, and 500 
broad, to make a separation between the sanctu- 
ary and the profane place " (Ezek. 42: 15-20). 

The prophet, in the previous chapters, is de- 
scribing the sanctuary, the new temple, and from 
that passes without the gate and sees a distinct 



310 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

separation between holy and common made by 
the measurements about the sanctuary. Whether 
this was a space, 500 reeds square, as some have 
thought, or simply a wall 500 cubits square sur- 
rounding the temple court, the evident meaning 
is to make a complete separation between that 
which is holy and that which is not. This would 
answer to the thought suggested by the "bor- 
der" around the table. The same glory which 
fences about the bread upon the table, makes 
also a separation between that and all that is in- 
consistent with His glory. How jealously God 
guards the person of His beloved Son from all 
dishonoring mingling with aught else. As at 
Jordan, in Joshua's day, there was a space of 
about 2000 cubits between the ark and the people 
(Josh. 3: 4), so here the Bread is fenced off from 
all other. Christ in His unique and perfect hu- 
manity is guarded from being confounded with 
any other, even the best of men. 

For instance, when our Lord was transfigured, 
and "there appeared unto them Moses and 
Elias: and they were talking with Jesus," Peter, 
in the excitement of fear, and not knowing what 
to say, proposed that they make three taber- 
nacles, "one for Thee, one for Moses, and one 
for Elias." How quickly is the "border" seen, 
as God from heaven proclaims, " This is My be- 
loved Son; hear Him" (Mark 9 : 2-8). But a 
little while before indeed Peter had himself de- 



The Table 311 

clared the pre-eminence of the Lord above 
44 Elias or one of the prophets . . . Thou art the 
Christ " (Mark 8 : 27-29). A large part of the 
epistle to the Hebrews manifests this same jeal- 
ous guarding of the person of our Lord. The 
" border of a handbreadth " and the golden 
crown separates Him from angels (chap. 1), from 
Moses (chap. 3), from Joshua (chap. 4), from 
Aaron (chaps. 5, 7), and from the whole line of 
men of faith (chap. 11); for Jesus, the "Author 
and finisher of faith/' is above them all. 

In like manner, if we look at the loaves, sug- 
gesting Christ's people as seen in Him, they are 
separated from all the world. This is illustrated 
in our Lord's prayer in John 17, which is largely 
taken up, we might say, with these two crowns. 
The words glory, glorify occur throughout the 
whole chapter. His great solicitude for His be- 
loved ones who are in the world is that they may 
be kept, not only saved, but kept from the evil 
that is in the world. " I pray not that Thou 
shouldest take them out of the world, but that 
Thou shouldest keep them from the evil " (Jno. 
17- 15). The measure of their separation from 
the world is as complete as His, in His mind and 
purpose: " They are not of the world, even as I 
am not of the world" (ver. 14). 

The reality of this, and the intense separation 
which holiness in grace wrought, is seen in the 
early chapters of Acts, where evil is judged 



312 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

according to the divine standard, and so intrud- 
ers are kept away from very fear: "And of the 
rest durst no man join himself unto them " (Acts 
5: 13). So in 1 Corinthians 5 the wicked person 
is to be put away ; and for the children of God the 
word is, " Let a man examine himself " (approve 
or set himself right), " and so let him eat of that 
bread and drink of that cup" (1 Cor. 11 : 28); 
thus the very glory of grace guards the holiness 
of the Lord's table from that which would dis- 
honor it. 

This separation, so far from being a contra- 
diction of grace, is the fruit of it; for all holy 
separation is in the power of the risen Lord, and 
not by legal or ascetic efforts. For His people 
there is a constraint of love: "For their sakes I 
sanctify Myself, that they also might be sancti- 
fied through the truth" (Jno. 17 : 19). Only in 
grace for us could He do this. Being in the 
world as Surety for His people, it is for their 
sakes that He separates Himself from the world, 
by death and resurrection. Being " holy, harm- 
less, undefiled, separate from sinners," our Lord 
needed no moral separation from the evil that was 
in the world, but " His own, which were in the 
world," needed the practical sanctification which 
nothing but His grace could give ; and by going 
down into death, He has severed the ties which 
bound His own to a sinful world ; and now in 
resurrection-glory He "everliveth to make in- 



The Table 313 

tercession for them " (Heb. 7 : 25). Of this High- 
priestly service, John 17 is the example. This 
practical separation of heart and walk is effected 
by " the truth; " or, as illustrated in John 13, by 
the washing of the feet. All this would be sug- 
gested by the crown about the border, which 
would also remind us of the eternal security of 
His people as seen passing through an evil world, 
where they need to learn heart-separation unto 
a glorified Christ. His glory is pledged to bring 
them through, and to manifest them at last com- 
pletely sanctified unto God. Even now it is but 
the unbelief and weakness of the flesh which 
prevents it from being a full practical reality. 
We are not straitened in Him. 

We have already spoken of the exclusion of 
moral evil, as seen in 1 Corinthians 5. There is 
perhaps a tendency to forget that the glory of 
Christ as jealously guards His table from defile- 
ment with doctrinal evil, or from carelessness as 
to it. A passage from 2 John will illustrate this: 
"And this is love, that we walk after His com- 
mandments. This is the commandment, That, as 
ye have heard from the beginning, ye should 
walk in it. For many deceivers are entered into 
the world, who confess not Jesus Christ come in 
the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. 
Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things 
which we have wrought, but that we receive a 
full reward. Whosoever transgresseth, and abi- 



314 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

deth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. 
He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he 
hath both the Father and the Son. If there 
come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, 
receive him not into your house, neither bid him 
God speed: for he that biddeth him God speed is 
partaker of his evil deeds " (2 Jno. 6-1 1). 

This passage needs not explanation, but rather 
prayerful obedience. In John, as indeed in the en- 
tire word of God, Christ is all, and men are tested 
by their attitude toward Him. To worship, trust, 
obey Him, shows one to be a member of the 
family of God. That which is not of Christ, and 
he who does not bring the doctrine of Christ, is 
to be absolutely refused. * * The doctrine of Christ" 
would include all that is connected with Him — 
all the truth of God. Any of it knowingly and wil- 
fully refused would constitute a person ' * wicked, " 
and anything dishonoring to His person or work 
could not be knowingly allowed for a moment. 
Thus while there is to be forbearance and pa- 
tience, there can be no indifference to evil doc- 
trine. Such indifference would make one a 
partaker of the evil deeds of the man who did 
not bring the doctrine of Christ. This is the 
divinely-set barrier about the table of the Lord. 

It remains to speak of the various vessels used 
in connection with the table, and which it has 
been thought stood upon this border. If the 
table suggests not only that which is God's food 



The Table 315 

and delight, but that which He provides also for 
His people to enjoy with Him, then the vessels 
of service may well speak of the divine provision 
for ministry. 

The material of these vessels was pure gold; 
all here is divine. The provision of God for the 
service of communion is all of Himself; human 
expedients here are absolutely out of place. It 
may be said that some regular order and pro- 
vision must be made for ministry, which is per- 
fectly true, only the provision is not human but 
divine. All efforts to provide by human appoint- 
ment for the ministry of God's table is an insult, 
however unintended, to the love, grace, and holi- 
ness of God. Alas, not one company of God's 
people can say it is free from failure in this re- 
spect ; but there should be, surely, an honest pur- 
pose to have and use none but divinely-appointed 
and prepared vessels. 

These vessels were: "dishes," "spoons," 
"covers" (or "flagons") and "bowls." The 
dishes may have been to hold the showbread; 
the spoon would serve for the frankincense, to 
put it upon the bread; the flagons and bowls 
would be used for the wine of the drink-offerings. 
Thus not only food is prepared, but the means 
of its orderly presentation, with its accompani- 
ments of joy and delight. For surely God has 
His delight in Christ (the frankincense), and a 
joy which human hearts cannot fathom— a joy 



316 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

which the " blood of the grape " expresses, and 
which carries us back to the outpouring of that 
precious Life upon the cross. All this is surely 
presented to Him by the divine Son; and yet, in 
infinite grace, God delights to have His people 
about Him presenting the praises of Christ, so 
acceptable to Him. 

But if this privilege is unspeakably great, how 
great also is the responsibility to be " vessels 
unto honor" (2 Tim. 2: 21), sanctified and meet 
for the Master's use. But only that which divine 
grace has wrought can be suitable for the Mas- 
ter's use : that grace which teaches us to deny 
44 ungodliness and worldly lusts" (Tit. 2 : 12), or 
causes one to " purge himself from these." Who 
can estimate the fulness of divine ministry, were 
all the vessels in the Lord's house as they should 
be — " Holiness unto the Lord; and the pots in 
the Lord's house . . . like the bowls before the 
altar" (Zech. 14 . 20) ? Such is it on high, where 
no abomination can enter ; but the "great house " 
(2 Tim. 2 : 20) has taken the place of the house 
of God upon earth, and amid the defilement and 
ruin, the path of faith is marked by lowliness 
and a spirit of mourning, rather than the exhibi- 
tion of great gifts. 

As with the ark and altar of incense, there were 
upon the golden table, near the border, golden 
rings, for the staves of acacia wood overlaid with 
gold, to carry it through the wilderness. May 



The Table 317 

there not be a suggestion, in the rings being 
near to the border, that the holiness of God's table 
was not to debar His people from the enjoyment 
of communion with Him even in the wilderness ? 
Wherever He led them, His table should accom- 
pany them — for it is only defilement which debars 
from communion, not trial. All the paths over 
which the weary feet of the Lord's saints may 
have to tread, have been already trodden by our 
Lord Jesus, of whom the table speaks. There 
may be danger, scorn and hatred of the world, 
persecution, affliction — He has passed through 
all these "apart from sin " (Heb. 4: 15). 

Not only has He thus passed through this world, 
but His promise is, "Lo, I am with you alway " 
(Matt. 28: 20). The rings might well suggest the 
abiding character of His presence. So the be- 
liever can boldly say: "Thou preparest a table 
before me in the presence of mine enemies " 
(Ps. 23:5). 

" Wherever He may guide me, 
No want shall turn me back ; 
My Shepherd is beside me, 
And nothing can I lack." 

The table, then, as we have seen, speaks of 
the food of God — Christ's person — and that in 
which He has communion with His people. Man 
could never provide God with what His soul de- 
lights in; it would be but Cain's offering, the 
fruit of earth cursed for man's sin. But Christ 



318 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

has set forth a table at which God finds all 
suited to His holiness, of which He can say, This 
is My food, " the bread of Mine offerings." But 
this blessed One, our Lord Jesus, having borne 
our judgment, for every one who believes upon 
Him there is now a place at the table of God. 
and a welcome to partake with Him of His de- 
lights in Christ. This is the wonder of grace: 
" Fellowship with the Father and with His Son 
Jesus Christ" (i Jno. i: 3). 

In this same chapter, from which we have just 
quoted, we have the statement that Christ and 
His work are the basis of our fellowship one with 
another: "If we walk in the light as He is in 
the light, we have fellowship one with another, 
and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth 
us from all sin." This is the tie that, by the Holy 
Spirit, unites the saints in communion one with 
another. They have a common life, which gives 
them common desires and tastes for Christ. Here 
is a fellowship of which the world knows nothing. 

As we view this fellowship, and see the divided 
state of Christendom and ask the cause, we can 
but say that Christ has not been, is not the one 
object of the soul. It is this which lets in a mere 
profession with a fellowship of the world rather 
than of God. May our blessed Lord and Saviour 
be so the object of our souls — yours and mine — 
that real and practical communion about Him 
shall be the result. 




THE LAMRSTAND 

NO DIMENSIONS GIVEN. DETAILS OF THE DESIGN REPRESENT THE ALMOND, KNOR AND 

FLOWER list THREE SETS TO EACH BRANCH. AND FOUR SETS TO THE 

CENTRAL STEM, AS-DESIGNATED IN TJHE TEXT 



T 



LECTURE XIV 

The Candlestick 
(Ex. 37 : 17-24) 

HE next article in the holy place, the golden 
candlestick, or lamp-stand, is now to occupy 
us. Like the mercy-seat, it was beaten out of 
pure gold — with no acacia wood in any part of it. 
Minute and elaborate directions were given as to 
its form. As to its size, conjectures have been 
made, some thinking it must have been about the 
height of the table; but where Scripture is silent, 
we are wise to remain so too, while gathering, 
if we may, some lesson as to the reason of its 
silence ; this we may do, if the Lord enables, 
after we have learned the significance of the 
candlestick. 

It was made of one talent of gold, said to be 
equivalent to $27,000; which would seem to allow 
for a large and magnificent article. Its general 
shape is easily gathered from the description 
given. There was a base (as the word " shaft" 
probably means), which served as the solid foun- 
dation; the "branch" coming out of that would 
be the shaft, or central stem. Branching out 
from this central, upright shaft, at regular inter- 
vals, were three pairs of side branches, opposite 
to each other, making six branches in all. These 
oranches, and the central shaft as well, were 



320 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

ornamented with "bowls, knops and flowers," 
44 made like to almonds." The " bowl " is said to 
have been like an almond; the "flower speaks 
for itself, and the "knop" or "knob" might 
suggest the rounded unopened bud. Others, as 
the R. V., translate the first word "almond- 
flower," in which case the rounded "knop" might 
suggest the fruit, and the " flower " would be the 
bud. In either case we may have the three 
parts of the almond — its bud, flower and ripened 
fruit, clustering together on the branches. 

The central shaft had four bowls or almonds, 
with knops and flowers: one cluster (bowl, knop 
and flower) separated between each of the three 
pairs of branches, being under it, while the 
fourth cluster may have been at the top, to serve 
as a resting-place for the lamp. In the same way 
each branch had three clusters, one probably at 
the end corresponding to the central shaft, and 
the other two arranged somewhere along its 
length. Upon the end of each branch was set 
a golden lamp. The general appearance of the 
candlestick would thus be a golden almond bush, 
with buds, flowers and fruit; and from the tip of 
each of the branches and central stem burst forth 
*ihe light. Seven lamps were thus giving their 
light in the holy place. In the vision of Zecha- 
Hah, we have two olive trees; one on either side 
of th6 golden candlestick, which furnished the 
oil for it (Zech. 4 : 1, etc.) Here, however, the 



The Candlestick 321 

only thought of the tree would be in the branch- 
ing figure, with its flower and fruit. 

While it was to give light throughout the en- 
tire holy place, the candlestick is mentioned in 
connection with each article in the room. It was 
set "over against the table" (Ex. 40: 24, 25), 
which would thus be completely illumined by 
it. It is also spoken of in connection with the 
burning of the incense on the golden altar (Ex. 
30: 7, 8); and its seven lamps were to give light 
4 over against the candlestick," to illumine it, 
and bring out the beauty of its construction. 
Thus each article of furniture stood out clearly 
in the light of the candlestick, and service could 
be rendered from each in connection with its 
light. 

The oil to be used was specially provided for 
(Ex. 27: 20, 21). It was the purest part, "beat- 
en" from the olive, leaving what might be 
secured in other ways for other uses. It was 
brought by the children of Israel, God delighting 
to use His people for this as for all other service 
for which they were fitted. 

Lastly, we must speak of the snuffers and 
snuff-dishes, to trim the lamps and to carry off 
the burnt portions of wick. These, as well as the 
lamps, were all made of pure gold. This trim- 
ming was to be done morning by morning, so 
that there was no dimming of the light in the 
sanctuary. It was in connection with the trim- 



322 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

ming of the lamps in the morning-, and their 
lighting at even, that, incense was to be burned, 
as already noted. We pass now to the spiritual 
meaning of these various features. 

We are already familiar with the fact that gold 
is a symbol of divine glory, in distinction from 
the acacia wood, which speaks of our Lord's per- 
fect and incorruptible humanity. The deity of 
our Lord, therefore, seems to be emphasized 
here. We have however in the almond buds, 
flower and fruit, a suggestion of His resurrection, 
which would pre-suppose His humanity and His 
death. But it is as risen and glorified in the 
place which was His with the Father " before 
the world was" that we see Him here. 

We will anticipate for a little the significance 
of the lamps, which would naturally occupy us 
later, to gather their significance from Scripture, 
and see the connection between them and the 
golden lamp-stand which bore them. 

Oil was one of the most useful of the products 
of the land of Israel, both for domestic and sacred 
purposes. There were three general uses to which 
it was put : for food, for light, and for anointing. 
Thus the widow of Zarephath had " but a hand- 
ful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse" 
(i Kings 17 : 12); the virtuous woman was well 
supplied with oil — "her candle goeth not out by 
night " (Prov. 31 : 18); David, after the death of 
his child, washed and anointed himself (2 Sam. 



The Candlestick 323 

12 : 20). These are examples of the domestic 
uses to which the oil was put, and the sacred 
uses were similar. Thus the meat-offering, when 
baked, was made of "fine flour mingled with 
oil," or anointed with it (Lev. 2:4). Its use for 
light we are now considering in the lamps of the 
sanctuary; and it was constantly used in anoint- 
ing or consecrating persons, places and articles. 
So priests were anointed (Ex. 28: 41); the taber- 
nacle and its various articles of furniture (Ex. 
40 : 9) ; David and all the kings of Judah were 
anointed (2 Sam. 2:7; 1 Kings 1 : 34) ; Elisha 
the prophet was to be anointed (1 Kings 19: 16). 
A striking case is that anointing of the pillar 
at Bethel by Jacob (Gen. 28 : 18; 31 : 13), where 
he set apart the place as "the house of God," a 
kind of anticipation of the tabernacle. As is well 
known, Messiah means "the Anointed," and the 
"Lord's anointed" is constantly used as desig- 
nating the king, and was the recognized title of 
our Lord; " Christ " being but the Greek equiva- 
lent for Messiah, "the Anointed" (Ps. 2:2; Ps. 
18: 50; Ps. 84: 9; Dan. 9: 25, 26). 

In sacred uses, anointing seems to have been 
the primary use of oil, and, may we not say, is the 
final thought also. Jacob's anointing the pillar at 
Bethel is the first mention in Scripture of the 
use of oil for any purpose, and the thought of 
consecrating or setting apart to God is there sug- 
gested, which finds its full meaning, as all the 



324 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

thoughts of God do, in His beloved Son, the 
Anointed. The significance of the oil from this 
point is clear, and a few scriptures will give it to 
us. " Lo, the heavens were opened unto Him, 
and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a 
dove, and lighting upon Him" (Matt. 3: 16). 
An inspired comment upon this is given in 
Peter's address to the company in Cornelius' 
house, where he shows that, from His baptism, 
44 God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the 
Holy Ghost and with power: who went about 
doing good, and healing all that were op- 
pressed of the devil; for God was with Him" 
(Acts 10: 38). The same Spirit in the disciples 
at Pentecost witnessed to the risen and as- 
cended Christ. The anointing of David by 
Samuel connects closely his setting apart to the 
kingly office and the Spirit's power for that ex- 
alted position (1 Sam. 16: 13). 

Setting apart then by anointing was largely 
for service and divine use, both of tabernacle, 
priests, prophets, and kings. This enduement 
for service was two- fold — direct worship to God, 
and in government and testimony to man. It is 
this last which we connect especially with our 
Lord's ministry. And do we not pass at this 
point to the added thought of light ? "And Jesus 
returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee : 
and there went out a fame of Him through all 
the region round about. And He taught in their 



The Candlestick 325 

synagogues, being glorified of all" (Luke 4: 14, 
15), The same Evangelist goes on at once to 
the account of His visit to Nazareth, where He 
read from the prophet Isaiah: " The Spirit of 
the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed 
Me to preach the gospel to the poor " (vers. 16- 
22). Here is the shining out of the lamp of 
testimony in the power of the Holy Spirit. The 
same may be said of the manifestation of the 
Spirit on the day of Pentecost: " There appeared 
unto them cloven (or parted) tongues like as of 
fire, and it sat upon each of them " (Acts 2 : 3). 
The thoughts of light and testimony seem to be 
connected here, as they do in another passage, 
where indeed the Spirit is not mentioned, but 
testimony: "The sons of God, without rebuke, 
in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, 
among whom ye shine as lights in the world; 
holding forth the word of life" (Phil. 2: 15, 16). 
Returning to the Old Testament, we have the 
suggestion of anointing and the lamp together: 
"There will I make the horn of David to bud: 
I have ordained a lamp for Mine Anointed " (Ps. 
132 : 17); "That David My servant may have a 
light alway before Me " (1 Kings 11 : 36). David 
himself was spoken of as "the light of Israel" 
(2 Sam. 21 : 17); and, in a far higher sense, our 
Lord Jesus declares Himself "the Light of the 
world" (Jno. 8: 12). We see, then, that oil is a 
type of the Holy Spirit, and that anointing was 



326 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

by Him, as well as the power for light or testi- 
mony. 

We come next to direct scripture interpreta- 
tion of the meaning of the lamps in the pres- 
ence of God: "And there were seven lamps of 
fire burning before the throne, which are the 
seven Spirits of God " (Rev. 4:5). The similarity 
to the golden candlestick and its seven lamps is 
so plain here that the interpretation seems 
to apply as clearly to that as to the symbol 
in Revelation, where the imagery of the throne 
and altar of incense reminds us of the tabernacle 
and temple. 

We return now to the significance of the 
candlestick, having learned that the lights were 
typical of the light of the Holy Spirit, through 
whom the sanctuary of God is illuminated. We 
may look at this more fully a little later on, but 
will now ask: What does the candlestick which 
holds the lights set forth ? We have already an- 
ticipated this, as Christ is presented to us in each 
article of furniture; the candlestick, therefore, 
is no exception. Its material being all gold sets 
forth His deity, as we have seen, with but a 
minor thought of His humanity; we will look 
more fully at this now. The gold was in the 
form of an almond tree, with seven branches, 
having buds, flowers and fruit upon them. The 
seven would speak of the perfection of our Lord 
as the Light-bearer and Giver; the flowers and 



The Candlestick 327 

fruit of the almond also have their special sig- 
nificance. 

It will be remembered that when God would 
show that Aaron was the divinely-designated 
priest, to silence the murmurings of the children 
of Israel, each tribe brought a rod which was 
laid up before the Lord (Num. 17) : "And it came 
to pass, that on the morrow Moses went into 
the tabernacle of witness; and, behold, the rod of 
Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and 
brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and 
yielded almonds" (ver. 8). The three stages of 
life are thus mentioned — bud, flower and fruit. 
Two of these words are the same as those used 
in the description of the candlestick — 'buds" 
and "almonds," which would go to confirm the 
thought that all spoke of the nature of the almond 
tree. 

The rods for each tribe would show the com- 
plete severance from the root, their original life. 
Any life they might now manifest would be apart 
from the root. It would mean a re-impartation 
of life ; in other words, the work of God. The 
rods of the tribes remain lifeless; but that of 
Aaron not only exhibits signs of life, but pro- 
duces the full results of it, in bud, flower and 
fruit. Here was a work of God which would for- 
ever silence all claims of others to the place of 
honor and service which God had given to Aaron. 
"No man taketh this honor unto himself, but 



328 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

he that is called of God, as was Aaron" (Heb. 

5:4). 

But God was teaching not only Israel, but giv- 
ing lessons of mercy and truth for all time. He 
would show to man who alone is the true Priest 
whom He has exalted. Here, as in all else that 
God does, nothing but absolute righteousness 
and truth mark all His acts. There could be but 
one Priest; for the Son of God alone, become in- 
carnate, was qualified to draw near to God and 
open the way of approach for a guilty and sinful 
people. This may come before us more fully 
when we speak of the whole subject of the Priest- 
hood. It will suffice us now to see the nature of 
God's proof that Christ is indeed His Priest. 

As the rods were cut off, so our Lord was 
" cut off out of the land of the living "(Isa. 53 : 8). 
That spotless and perfect life, which was not 
under sentence of death, as was the whole 
human family, was willingly laid down in sacri- 
fice. But beyond the tomb God permits us to 
look within the sanctuary, and to see there the 
blessed Lord risen from the dead. His disciples 
had watched that cross, had lingered at the 
tomb, and brooded over all the wondrous life of 
which they said, "We trusted that it had been 
He who should have redeemed Israel " (Luke 
24: 21). But just where faith reaches its lowest 
point, light out of the grave begins to appear in 
the words, "Beside all this, to-day is the third 



The Candlestick 329 

day since these things were done. Yea, and cer- 
tain women also of our company made us aston- 
ished, which were early at the sepulchre ; and 
when they found not His body, they came, say- 
ing that they had also seen a vision of angels, 
which said that He was alive " (Luke 24: 21-23). 
Thus already, all unknown to themselves, there 
was a dawning toward resurrection faith, which 
needed but the confirmation of the Word to make 
their hearts burn, and to fit them for the direct 
manifestation of the risen Lord. 

"The Lord is risen indeed " (Luke 24 : 34). 
But how much that means! It is God's seal upon 
every word He had uttered and all He had done 
during His life, and it was the complete reversal 
of the judgment of the world, civil and religious, 
which had rejected and cast Him out as a male- 
factor and blasphemer. More, it was the decla- 
ration by God of His acceptance of that sacrifice 
for sin which our Lord had offered upon the 
cross; further, it declared that death had no 
power over Him, that Satan's power had been 
forever crushed, and that God's Holy One could 
not see corruption (Acts 2: 27, 31): "Christ be- 
ing raised from the dead, dieth no more " (Rom. 

6:9). 

Death indeed cut short the priestly service of 
all the house of Aaron, "Because they were not 
suffered to continue by reason of death: but 
this Man, because He continueth ever, hath an 



330 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

unchangeable priesthood" (Heb. 7: 23, 24). This 
Priest is " made, not after the law of a carnal com- 
mandment, but after the power of an endless 
life " (Heb. 7: 16). While He ever had this life 
in Himself, yet it was in resurrection that it was 
declared in power. It was after He had passed 
through the anguish of Calvary, and had been 
" made perfect " — "the third day I shall be per- 
fected " (Luke 13: 32) — in resurrection He was 
"saluted of God a High Priest after the order of 
Melchizedek " (Heb. 5: 10, Greek). 

Resurrection, then, is God's proof of the eternal 
priesthood of His beloved Son. And this seems 
to be what is set forth in the buds, flowers and 
fruit of the almond upon the branches of the 
golden candlestick. The Hebrew word for al- 
mond means "wakeful," or "hastener;" said to 
have been given to it because it is the earliest of 
trees to awaken after the winter, putting forth 
its buds in January. This would fittingly suggest 
Him who is "the First-fruits of them that slept " 
(1 Cor. 15: 20). The buds would emphasize this, 
for they are the manifestation of the life of 
which flower and fruit are the full display. Thus 
our Lord's resurrection was not, if we may so 
speak, a mere beginning of a life which would 
go on to fruition, but it was divinely perfect and 
complete as He took His seat upon His Father's 
throne. 

It is perhaps difficult to express the thought, 



The Candlestick 331 

but may we not have an illustration of this gra- 
dation in the evidences of the resurrection ? The 
stone rolled away, the empty tomb, the linen 
clothes lying in quiet order, and the napkin 
lying by itself — no sign of a struggle, but the 
witness that the Prince of Life had risen from 
His sleep of death ; these may be called the 
"buds," the first signs of His resurrection. The 
angel who rolled away the stone and sat upon it 
(Matt. 28: 2), the "young man sitting on the 
right side" of the tomb (Mark 16: 5, 6), the 
"vision of angels," seen by the women who 
came early to the sepulchre (Luke 24: 23); the 
"two angels in white sitting, the one at the 
head and the other at the feet, where the body 
of Jesus had lain" (J no. 20: 12) — these maybe 
called the "flowers" of the almond rod, more 
advanced witnesses of His resurrection. Lastly, 
His own personal manifestation to Mary Magda- 
lene, to Peter, to the women, to the two disciples 
at Emmaus, to the gathered disciples in the 
upper room, to them again when Thomas was 
present; again at the Sea of Tiberias, and at a 
mountain in Galilee — these and other "infal- 
lible proofs," might be called the full almond 
fruit. The empty tomb would have been a pre- 
cious boon to faith, and was enough for John 
(Jno. 20 : 8) ; the testimony of the angels would 
have been stronger testimony, but the crown of 
all was to behold Him, to handle Him, to see 



332 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

Him eat, hear Him speak, this was indeed the 
full fruit. Truly the almond rod had borne. 

We maybe sure that God has recorded all this 
for the joy and strength of faith, and would have 
us dwell upon it, not satisfied with a single** bud " 
or "flower," but to feast the eyes upon the 
sevenfold beauty and the abounding witness of 
the Lord's resurrection. Thus in that great chap- 
ter of the resurrection, the apostle counts over 
some of the " almonds" of the Lord's appear- 
ances to His beloved people; "That He rose 
again the third day according to the Scriptures: 
and that He was seen of Cephas, then of the 
twelve; after that, He was seen of above 500 
brethren at once; of whom the greater part re- 
main unto this present, but some are fallen 
asleep. After that, He was seen of James; then 
of all the apostles. And last of all He was seen of 
me also, as of one born out of due time " (1 Cor. 
15 : 4-8). We need not suppose that the apostle, 
or any one of the Evangelists, is attempting to 
give a complete list of these appearings, but 
each gives that for which there was special 
reason in his own narrative, as guided by the 
Spirit, and all were exactly true. 

We may further look at the buds, flowers and 
fruit of the almond as various stages in the ap- 
prehension of divine truth as exhibited in the 
risen Lord, answering to the three-fold condition 
of the saints, as "babes," " young men" and 



The Candlestick 333 

"fathers" (i Jno. 2 : 13) — a fulness of mercy 
which suits every one, and all centering in Him- 
self, It seems to remind us also that divine glory 
has not changed the blessed One who is ' 'the same 
yesterday and to-day and forever" (Heb. 13: 8). 
Could aught of the freshness and vigor which 
marked each stage of our Lord's life here be lost 
in glory ? They surely remain in that glory, eter- 
nally the same. In connection with His Mel- 
chizedek priesthood, it was said of Him: "Thou 
hast the dew of Thy youth " (Ps. no: 3). Those 
who worshiped Him as the Babe at Bethlehem, 
who marveled as the flower of His perfect child- 
hood developed, and later saw the rich fruit of 
His maturity, will find all that preserved in 
divine freshness on high. How, we know not; but 
with the Lord one thing does not displace an- 
other. He passes on from one to another, and 
in that sense there is progress, whilst in another 
all abides. The manna — the food of the desert — 
laid up in the golden pot suggests a similar 
thought. It is not that with Him, the divinely 
perfect One, maturity would suggest previous 
immaturity as its opposite. With us, immaturity 
suggests something lacking, for which we must 
wait ; with Him each stage was perfect, and 
nothing lacking; therefore all is displayed in 
heavenly glory. 

But in the material, as we have said, emphasis 
seems to be laid upon His deity, though the 



334 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

form clearly speaks of His humanity and resur- 
rection. The reason for this may be seen in the 
two following scriptures: "And I will pray the 
Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, 
that He may abide with you forever; even the 
Spirit of truth" (Jno. 14 : 16, 17); "If I go not 
away, the Comforter will not come unto you; 
but if I depart, I will send Him unto you" (Jno. 

16:7). 

In the first of these scriptures we are told that 
the Holy Spirit was to come as given by the 
Father, in answer to the prayer of the Son. A 
divine Person, the Spirit, is given by the divine 
Father. But this might be interpreted to mean, 
as the heart of the natural man is so prone to 
degrade the Son of God, a denial of the essential 
deity and co-equality of the Son with the Father. 
The second scripture therefore is the refutation 
of this: "7" will send Him unto you;" or, as 
Peter declares at Pentecost, " Being by the right 
hand of God exalted, and having received of the 
Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, He hath 
shed forth this, which ye now see and hear " 
(Acts 2: 33). Is it not specially fitting that this 
mission of the Spirit should be from the Son as 
divine ? And this would account for the absence 
of the acacia wood from the material of the can- 
dlestick, though the fashion of it is all the more 
exuberant with witnesses of the resurrection 
of Him who took a servant's form. Nor can we 



The Candlestick 335 

ever really separate the two natures of our Sav- 
iour, for He has voluntarily declared His purpose 
to be "a servant forever" (Ex. 21: 1-6). An- 
other passage shows us how completely the Son 
is identified with the Father in connection with 
the Holy Spirit. "But ye are not in the flesh, 
but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God 
dwell in you. Now if any man have not the 
Spirit of Christ, he is none of His. And if Christ 
be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but 
the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But 
if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from 
the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ 
from the dead shall also quicken your mortal 
bodies, because of His Spirit that dwelleth in 
you " (Rom. 8: 9-1 1). Here there can be no mis- 
take ; the Spirit of God is also the Spirit of 
Christ; He is also the Spirit of Him who raised 
up " Jesus " from the dead, and " Christ." Here, 
then, we have abundant evidence that the Spirit 
was sent by our Lord after His resurrection, as 
well as the fact that He was given by the Father. 
This will suffice as to the material of the candle- 
stick. 

We come next to a scripture which affords a 
beautiful comment upon the meaning of the 
seven branches: "And there shall come forth a 
rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall 
grow out of his roots : and the Spirit of the Lord 
shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and un- 



336 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

derstanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the 
Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord; 
and shall make Him of quick understanding in 
the fear of the Lord ; and He shall not judge 
after the sight of His eyes, neither reprove after 
the hearing of His ears: but with righteousness 
shall He judge the poor, and reprove with equity 
for the meek of the earth: and He shall smite 
the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with 
the breath of His lips shall He slay the wicked " 
(Isa. ii : 1-4). 

In this scripture the Lord is set forth as the 
true Ruler and Judge, who shall vindicate His 
feeble and needy ones and execute judgment 
upon the wicked. He is the true Son of Jesse, 
of whom David was a type. His qualifications 
for this supreme place are given in the seven- 
fold enduement of the Spirit. It will be re- 
marked that we have here first the Spirit of 
Jehovah spoken of alone, answering to the cen- 
tral shaft — the one divine Being. Next we have 
three pairs of designations, which would corre- 
spond strikingly with the three pairs of branches 
which, with the central shaft, form the lamp- 
stand. The first pair is " the Spirit of wisdom 
and understanding." " Wisdom " is knowledge 
coupled with sound judgment; the word is found 
in Job and Ecclesiastes, where indeed it is largely 
human wisdom; and in Proverbs, where it speaks 
of what is needed for the path through this 



The Candlestick 337 

world, and also of that divine Wisdom who was 
the Companion and Co-worker with Jehovah 
from the beginning — the Eternal Son of God. 
" Understanding" is derived from a word mean- 
ing to "separate," " distinguish," which sug- 
gests that discrimination which is the necessary- 
accompaniment of wisdom. 

How truly did these two attributes of the 
Spirit characterize the Lord. From childhood 
He was marked by "wisdom," and when He 
went forth upon His ministry, all that He did 
and said was marked by the wisdom and under- 
standing of the Spirit. Not only did He know 
what to do and say, but how, when and where. 

"Counsel" is thought to be derived from a 
word meaning to be strong, then to command; 
and hence, advice. And does not this suggest 
what all true counsel is — authoritative and bind- 
ing? Thus our Lord's teaching was "as one 
having authority." How full was His life of 
that divinely perfect counsel. A fit accompani- 
ment of this was the Spirit of "might," which, 
while seemingly in contrast, was really associ- 
ated with and complementary to the other, giving 
an evenly balanced display of the Spirit's work- 
ing. When we think of all His mighty works in 
mercy upon the helpless and needy, we see how 
fully the Spirit of might rested upon Him as 
through the Spirit He wrought His miracles 
(Luke 4: 14). 



338 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

The last two attributes of the Spirit mentioned 
are " knowledge and the fear of the Lord." 
Knowledge is what the world craves, seeking* it 
in order to display itself in independence of God. 
Thus sin first came into the world; knowledge 
was craved, knowledge apart from God, and in 
disobedience. The result has been a ruined 
world, under the righteous judgment of God. 
Knowledge can be of real value only as it comes 
from God, His gift. The wisdom and knowledge 
of the world have been used to shut out the knowl- 
edge of God: " The world by wisdom knew not 
God" (i Cor. i: 21). The reason is simple and 
plain: man's pride casts off the fear of God, but 
i4 the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowl- 
edge " (Prov. 1:7). If knowledge is used to puff 
up, to lead men to think they are like God (Gen. 
3:5), it can only produce more disastrous re- 
sults than ignorance. Education, apart from the 
fear of God, tends to infidelity. It is not true, 
as Rome has taught, that " ignorance is the 
mother of devotion " (unless it be the devotion 
of worshiping images and relics), but neither is 
knowledge the parent of worship ; something 
from above is needed for that. 

But in our Lord how perfectly was blended 
knowledge with the fear of the Lord. He knew 
all things; He knew what was in man; He could 
have told all the secrets of nature, the wonders 
and glories of heaven. But we search in vain 



The Candlestick 339 

for one word to gratify mere curiosity. How 
truly did He reverence His God and Father. 
Obedience marked every motion of His being; 
the fear of the Lord controlled all the treasures 
of knowledge which He unfolded. Hence, what 
wondrous knowledge He manifested — knowledge 
of the heart of God, of His character and of His 
will; it characterized all His teaching and all 
His works. And what was so manifest in all the 
record of His life is characteristic of Scripture, 
for it is all "the word of Christ" (Col. 3 : 16). 
The Bible is a treasure-house of divine knowl- 
edge, but the one key to open it is " the fear of 
the Lord." It is a book for the conscience, and 
not for mere intellect. Heights and depths of 
knowledge there are in it indeed, but only the 
lowly- hearted who serve the Lord "with all 
humility of mind " (Acts 20 : 19) can apprehend 
them. These six characteristics then are the 
varied manifestations of that one Spirit of Jeho- 
vah that rested upon our Lord. All was divinely 
perfect. 

The candlestick was all of gold. It will be re- 
membered that the Spirit's work is ever to glorify 
Christ (Jno. 16 : 14). As the light was to shine 
upon the candlestick (Ex. 25 : 37), so the Spirit 
displays the glories and perfections of the Lord 
Jesus. It was by the light on the candlestick t-hat 
the table was seen with its loaves of showbread, 
so it is by the Holy Spirit that the perfections of 



340 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

Christ as the Bread of God to sustain His people 
in communion is manifested; only through Him 
can acceptable worship be offered ; and only- 
through Him therefore can we apprehend the 
character and perfections of Christ, who has sent 
down the Holy Spirit. The Spirit's ministry is 
not to occupy us with Himself — divine Being as 
He is, one with the Father and the Son — but 
with the Lord Jesus Christ. Thus the proof of 
new birth is not gained by looking within at the 
Spirit's work in our souls, but at Him who "died 
for the ungodly," who "was delivered for our 
offences, and was raised again for our justifica- 
tion " (Rom. 5 : 6 ; 4: 25). Fruits of grace are for 
the eye of God, not for self. The fruits to be 
looked at are those wondrous buds, flowers and 
almonds of the risen Lord. He is the fruitful 
tree, and the full light of the Spirit is shed upon 
His perfections. 

So sanctification is not some culture of the 
flesh, but the capacity for apprehending to the 
heart's joy what Christ is, and true subjection to 
Him. The Spirit does not tell a saint that he has 
attained to something in himself, but turns his 
eyes to the One who fills the heart of God with 
delight. Thus only is true sanctification pro- 
duced. "We all with open face beholding as in 
a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into 
the same image from glory to glory, even as by 
the Spirit of the Lord," or "the Lord the Spirit" 



1 he Candlestick 341 

(2 Cor. 3: 18). For the sinner it is, " Look/' and 
for the saint it is still, " Look." 

Returning to the passage from which we have 
already quoted, we see the perfect character of the 
light which streams from the golden Candlestick 
(Jno. 16: 7-15): "It is expedient for you that I 
go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter 
will not come unto you; but if I depart I will 
send Him unto you" (ver. 7). The Lord must 
needs, in infinite grace, depart out of the world 
by way of the cross, in order that He might send 
the Holy Spirit. Christ is thus the Light-giver, 
as risen from the dead and entered into His 
glory. The Holy Spirit has come, and we have 
the nature of His light first in relation to the 
world, next in relation to the saints, and also in 
relation to the Lord Himself. His testimony in 
relation to the world is threefold: "He will re- 
prove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and 
of judgment" (ver. 8). The light must reprove 
and make manifest all that is contrary to itself; 
so we have a trinity of conviction, the full mani- 
festation of sin, its contrast, and the judgment 
which awaits it. 

But it will be seen that this light of the Spirit 
in the world is in connection with Christ: "Of 
sin, because they believe not on Me " (ver. 9). 
The world is full of sin of every form and char- 
acter — from the deep and fearful crimes which 
strike horror into the heart, to the " little sins," 



342 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

of which men speak so lightly — there are none 
such in the sight of God. But the Holy Spirit is 
not merely occupied in throwing the light upon 
all this ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, 
He sheds His beams upon the perfections of 
Christ, and tests the world thereby. Thus all 
alike are convicted — rich and poor, moral and 
criminal, intelligent and ignorant — they have 
one thing in common, they have not believed in 
the Lord Jesus Christ. The pleasure-seeking 
worldling, the man of affairs absorbed in trade, 
the profligate, and the man whose hands are red 
with blood, have this in common. That which 
was the cause of all sin was breaking loose from 
God, independence of Him; and that which the 
Holy Spirit witnesses against the world is its re- 
jection of the remedy which divine mercy has 
provided. 

So, too, the Spirit witnesses of righteousness: 
" Of righteousness, because I go to My Father, 
and ye see Me no more " (ver. 10). The law was 
a declaration of righteousness which God justly 
required of man. If we examine it, we must own 
that its claims are righteous. But man is fallen, 
and the law can only prove his unrighteousness. 
Alas, had he been but willing to own his un- 
righteousness, and with the publican cried, 
"God be merciful to me the sinner," he would 
then have no sin, for the Son of God came to put 
away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. Instead of 



The Candlestick 343 

that, man put the spotless Son of God on trial, 
and blasphemously accused Him; and sin there- 
fore remains upon him. Here was One who al- 
ways did those things which pleased His Father 
(Jno. 8: 29), whom no one could convict of sin, 
yet sinners condemned Him to a murderer's 
cross! And God remained silent; man had his 
way; his seal was put upon the great stone at 
the door of the tomb. 

Shall such wickedness succeed ? What wit- 
ness does the Holy Spirit give as to this? He 
declares God's righteousness in the fact that 
" God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have 
crucified, both Lord and Christ" (Acts 2 : 36). 
God is not unrighteous to suffer the righteous 
One to lie under the imputation of sin. He is put 
upon the throne of glory: the highest place in 
heaven is His answer to the world for what it 
has done. And again we see how all testimony 
to righteousness is a testimony to Christ. 

The Spirit further bears witness of judgment: 
"Of judgment, because the prince of this world 
is judged " (ver. 1 1). The cross of our Lord Jesus 
Christ was seemingly Satan's triumph ; it was 
"Your hour and the power of darkness " (Lk. 22 : 
53). But a lie can never finally triumph over the 
truth, nor the liar over Him that is the Truth. 
Satan's malice overreached itself, and his un- 
utterable rebellion against God, in which he had 
involved the human race, met its doom in the 



344 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

very act which seemed to secure the world for 
him. The Cross, the death of Christ, is that by 
which He destroyed "him that had the power of 
death, that is, the devil" (Heb. 2 : 14). Satan is 
judged, and his self-chosen place is fixed for all 
eternity. 

But this settles the question for the world. It 
is no longer under probation; there is no longer 
a question as to its guilt and the character of 
its judgment. Its prince has been judged, and 
in his judgment that of his kingdom is also pro- 
nounced. The Spirit thus bears testimony to 
judgment in connection with Christ and His 
tross. 

In His own grace, which expresses His amazing 
love, God has connected this testimony of the 
Spirit to the world with the grace of the gospel 
in salvation. If the world is guilty because it be- 
lieved not on Christ, let men now believe on 
Him, and eternal life is theirs; that righteous- 
ness witnessed by a glorified Saviour declares 
that God is just and the justifier of him that be- 
lieveth in Jesus. Satan's judgment will never 
come upon the man who, lost and helpless, casts 
himself on the Saviour. To such an one who be- 
lieves, the Spirit bears witness that he is a child 
of God. 

This brings us to see the nature of the Spirit's 
testimony to the believer. To the world it is a 
witness of Christ : to the saint it is the same. 



The Candlestick 345 

11 I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye 
cannot bear them now. Howbeit when He, the 
Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into 
all truth: for He shall not speak of (or from) 
Himself: but whatsoever He shall hear, that 
shall He speak: and He will show you things to 
come" (vers. 12, 13). Until the Lord was glori- 
fied He reserved much which the disciples could 
not understand. In spite even of His frequent 
declaration that He would be rejected and would 
rise again, they did not understand it. But this 
was all changed when He rose and ascended to 
heaven. Reading Peter's words on the day of 
Pentecost, we hear no uncertain sound as to 
man's guilt, as to forgiveness and salvation; they 
were borne witness to in demonstration of the 
Spirit and x)f power. And all centred about the 
person of our Lord, His death, His resurrection 
and glory, and His coming again. Truly the 
" cloven tongues as of fire " were the symbol of 
the Spirit's presence as the light of testimony — 
all shining upon Christ. 

And Pentecost was but the beginning of that 
dispensation of the Spirit in which we are now 
living. It has been marked by the presence, 
power, revelation of the Spirit, whose work has 
been to glorify Christ. First of all, there has 
been the full revelation of truth: "He shall 
guide you into all truth." Christ is the Truth; 
He alone has shown what God is and what man 



346 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

is. We have seen what is the Spirit's testimony 
to the world. His testimony to the saints is U 
guide them into a knowledge of the fulness of 
Christ. This we see historically in the book of 
Acts, where the risen and ascended Lord is the 
source of all power and testimony, gradually 
leading the Church out of Judaism into the ful- 
ness of Christian liberty. In the Epistles, notably 
of Paul, what inexhaustible treasures of truth are 
unfolded: "the unsearchable riches of Christ." 
That "chosen vessel" was called, we may say, 
by the light of the golden Candlestick. He saw * i a 
light above the brightness of the sun," and that 
light revealed Jesus, whom he had despised and 
hated, the lowly Nazarene upon the throne of 
glory. In this light Paul saw himself a lost sin- 
ner, saw all his "gain" of Judaism to be filthy 
rags; but the Object which absorbed his soul was 
Christ (Phil. 3: 4-7). God had revealed His Son 
in him (Gal. 1: 16), and his eyes were blinded to 
all else. Thus his very first testimony at Damas- 
cus was as to the deity of Christ: " Straightway 
he preached Christ in the synagogues, that He 
is the Son of God " (Acts 9: 20). Here was both 
a revelation of the glories of the golden Candle- 
stick and a testimony to it. 

Need we do more than refer to the epistles of 
Paul to show how this one theme, the glories of 
Christ, governed his entire ministry ? In Rom- 
ans, it is justification by faith in Christ; in Gal- 



The Candlestick 347 

atians, it is deliverance from the law through 
Christ; in Ephesians, he shows us in Christ in 
the heavenlies; in Colossians, the glories of the 
risen Lord are set forth; and in Philippians He 
is the life, example, object and power — all. The 
full light of the Spirit fell upon the golden Can- 
dlestick, showing all its beauties: "He shall 
glorify Me: for He shall receive of Mine, and 
shall show it unto you" (Jno. 16: 14). 

The writings of Peter, James and John, and of 
Jude, are the Spirit's light glorifying Christ. 
Even when the theme seems to be different, it 
will be found that it is to shut up the saints to 
Christ. Thus the book of Revelation, that book 
of judgment is the light of the seven lamps be- 
fore the throne, which shows how Christ must 
reign until He has put all enemies beneath His 
feet. All evil is banished, all His persistent 
enemies are for ever shut up with him whom 
they have chosen instead of Christ, and then 
through heaven's eternal day there is no need of 
the sun or moon to lighten, neither is there night, 
"for the glory of God did lighten it, and the 
Lamb is the light (or lamp) thereof" (Rev. 21: 

23)- 

The last thought we will speak of in connec- 
tion with the candlestick is the trimming of the 
lamps. The oil and the light we have seen to 
speak of the Holy Spirit; while the beautiful 
candlestick sets forth the glories of our divine 



348 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

Lord and Saviour ; but for the actual light to be 
given either in the world or among the people 
of God, human vehicles are used. This indeed is 
grace ; and in this we see His people, not as in all 
the perfections of Christ before God, but as 
wicks, which are not even named, save by impli- 
cation. And if a wick is to be of use, it must be 
burned; if burned, it must be trimmed. Here 
are valuable and suggestive lessons. 

Trimming was the work of the priest. No hand 
but his could remove the burned portion of the 
wick, to enable it to burn brightly. And so no 
hand but that of our Lord Jesus can cause the 
light of His people to burn clearly and brightly. 
Whomsoever He may use, unless it is Himself 
who is seen doing the work, it will not be effect- 
ual. This does not relieve the priestly family of 
their responsibility. We are to "wash one an- 
other's feet " (Jno. 13: 14). But how careful we 
should be to let Him control us, if we are to 
serve Him in ministering to one another. The 
beam must be taken out of our own eye, if a 
single mote is to be taken out of our brother's 
eye (Matt. 7: 3-5). 

Trimming the lamp did not imply that it had 
failed to give light; the priest would not let it 
reach that stage, but removed the charred part 
of the wick in order that there might be a fresh 
portion for the oil to pass through unhindered 
and to supply fuel for the lamp. The wick was 



The Candlestick 349 

not the fuel, but the channel for the fuel, though 
from immediate contact with the flame it would 
be consumed. So with the child of God: he is 
the channel through whom the Spirit flows to 
shed abroad that light which glorifies Christ. 
How much, alas, hinders this shining both in the 
world and in the house of God. It were blas- 
phemy to think the dimness were due to the 
slightest failure in the divine Spirit. With us, 
and with us alone, is all the blame that we are 
not absolutely yielded up to the priestly hand of 
Him who in love would trim, not quench, the 
"smoking flax" of our testimony, that an un- 
grieved Spirit might pour forth the holy beams 
of His truth. 

It is needless to go into details as to the 
trimming of the lamps. He who knows the 
need alone can do the work, making use of 
such instruments as He sees can be used. So 
completely is the work of these "snuffers" 
divine, that they are seen to be all of gold; the 
human instrument is entirely out of sight. 

One thought is suggestive: the part of the 
wick that is removed is that which had been 
used to give forth the light. So it is that part of 
the believer's life which but lately shone so 
brightly in the power of the Spirit, which if 
dwelt upon, boasted in, rested in, would mar all 
the brightness. Past experience — of service, 
communion, worship — is but a burned wick; it 



350 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

cannot be a channel for to-day's flame. To b& 
occupied with that is like gazing upon a charred 
wick instead of the glories and beauties of the 
candlestick, Christ Himself. The word is ever, 
"Forgetting those things which are behind" 
(Phil. 3 : 13). There is a subtle snare in self- 
complacent occupation with even the fruits of 
the Spirit in us, which mars the brightest use- 
fulness. So Paul did not glory in all his faithful 
service, in suffering and ministry in which the 
Lord had used him. If compelled to speak of 
these, it was with a measure of shame: "I am 
become a fool in glorying; ye have compelled 
me" (2 Cor. 12 : 11). He had a better object, 
and gloried in himself only as * * a man in Christ. " 
So too he submitted gladly to the trimming of 
the wick, knowing who it was that was doing it. 
Messenger of Satan though the outward circum- 
stances might be, he saw the Priest's hand and 
the golden snuffers: " My grace is sufficient for 
thee : for My strength is made perfect in weak- 
ness " (2 Cor. 12: 9). 

And yet there would be a time when all the 
record of this faithfulness could be looked upon 
and occasion nothing but praise to God. "In 
that day," of which he loved to think, the apostle 
knew he would receive "a crown of righteous- 
ness," the Master's "Well done, good and faith- 
ful servant," and for that day he was content to 
wait — misunderstood, suffering, despised as he 



The Candlestick 351 

might be. There, not a single pang would be 
forgotten; every stripe and abuse he had re- 
ceived, and all his watchings, fastings, cold and 
nakedness. Ah, the Lord has gathered those up 
and put them in the " golden snuff -dishes, M 
where they are effectually hidden from view in 
His own glory, to be displayed as His glory "in 
that day." Then we can look upon all service 
and suffering, be it great or small, and see it to 
have been the fruit alone of His grace. There 
will be no self-complacency in heaven, for "the 
flesh " will be forever a thing of the past. At the 
judgment-seat of Christ all will be manifested; 
the skill and care of the great High Priest will 
be seen, and "then shall every man have praise 
of God " (i Cor. 4 : 5). A crown will be given, 
not to be worn in pride, but to be cast at His feet 
who alone is worthy. 

The dimensions of the candlestick are not. 
given, the whole interest being centred upon its- 
material, form and use. All was perfect. Num^ 
ber, ordinarily suggested by measured size, \\\ 
given here in the perfect number, seven. Thi? 
is the Spirit's witness to a glorified Christ — He n 
perfect, divine. Christ is all. 



LECTURE XV 

The Golden Altar 
(Ex. 30 : 22-38 ; 37 : 25-29.) 

WE have* now reached, in the order of con- 
struction, the last article of furniture in 
the holy place, the golden altar of incense ; this 
was made of acacia wood overlaid with pure gold. 
Its dimensions were one cubit square, and two 
cubits high. It was thus the highest of the three 
articles in the tabernacle, being half a cubit 
higher than the table and the ark, the size of the 
candlestick not being given. A horn was at 
each of the four corners — at least we gather this 
from the altar of burnt offering (Ex. 38 : 2), as 
the number of the horns is not given in connec- 
tion with the altar of incense. It also had a crown 
of gold around its edge, and two rings of gold, 
under the crown, by the corners upon the two 
sides, for staves. Here too the number of the 
rings is uncertain, some believing that there 
were but two in all, at diagonal corners. Pos- 
sibly, however, from the analogy of the ark and 
table, there may have be"en two rings for each 
side, or four in all, although the language is 
different. We may learn something from this 
silence as to the number of the horns and the 
rings, when we come to consider their spiritual 
significance. 



ev 




yS 




THE ALTAR OF INCENSE 

LENGTH 1 CUBIT BREADTH 1 CUBIT HEIGHT 2 CUBITS THE DECORATIONS ARE FROM 

THE INGREDIENTS OF WHICH THE INCENSE WAS COMPOSED STACTE (CROWN FRONT) 

ONYCHA (CROWN SIDE) FRANKINCENSE (BASE FRONT) GALBANUM <BASE SIDE) 



The golden Altar 353 

This altar was placed in front of the veil, be- 
tween the candlestick on the south, and the table 
on the north side of the holy place. It was called 
the "golden altar," doubtless to distinguish it 
from the brazen altar of sacrifice in the court. 
It was called the " altar of incense," as indicating 
its use. Upon its horns was placed the blood of 
the sin-offering for the sin of the priest, or of 
the whole congregation (Lev. 4: 7, 18); also once 
a year, upon the day of atonement (Lev. 16: 18). 
Its constant use was for the burning of the di- 
vinely prescribed incense, morning and evening 
(Ex. 30 : 7, 8), in connection with the trimming 
and lighting of the lamps. It seems to have been 
used as a place of refuge (1 Kings 1 : 50), though 
this may have been the altar of burnt-offering. 

Coming to the spiritual significance of the 
altar, as we have already learned, the acacia 
wood speaks of the perfect humanity of our Lord 
Jesus, and the gold, of His divine glory. We will 
see how appropriate these materials were, as 
setting forth His deity and His humanity, in con- 
nection with the offering up of praise and wor- 
ship of which the burning of the incense speaks: 
Christ presenting His praises to God, and those of 
His people. 

As illustrating our Lord's humanity in wor- 
ship, we may take His thanksgiving at the grave 
of Lazarus: "And Jesus lifted up His eyes and 
said, Father, I thank Thee that Thou hast heard 



354 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

Me. And I knew that Thou hearest Me always; 
but because of the people which stand by I said 
it, that they may believe that Thou hast sent 
Me" (Jno. ii : 41, 42). • He had but a little be- 
fore wept over the death of Lazarus, showing 
His perfect and tender human sympathy; and in 
His work of raising the dead He still showed His 
dependence upon His Father. 

Another sciipture will make prominent the 
gold: "At that time Jesus answered and said, I 
thank Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and 
earth, because Thou hast hid these things from 
the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them 
unto babes. Even so, Father; for so it seemed 
good in Thy sight; " and He goes on to say, " No 
man knoweth the Son, but the Father " (Matt. 
11 : 25-27), which would suggest His deity — the 
"higher mysteries" of His fame which tran- 
scend the creature's grasp. But as in the altar 
the gold overlay the acacia wood, not separated 
from it, so we may distinguish between, but 
cannot separate, the two natures in bur holy 
Lord. 

In the great High Priestly prayer of our Lord 
(Jno. 17), we have the blending of the gold and 
the acacia wood, where the gold is the more 
apparent. He speaks of having finished the work 
given Him by the Father, and immediately asks 
to be glorified with the glory He had with the 
Father before the world was (vers. 4, 5). 



The golden Altar 355 

It may be well here to be reminded that while 
this address to the Father was upon earth, it has 
suffered no change by the Lord's passing into 
glory. " Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, to- 
day, and forever" (Heb. 13 : 8). So whatever 
characterized Him in His state of lowliness, is 
forever true of Him. The golden crown about 
the altar reminds us that He is now " crowned 
with glory and honor" where prayer and wor- 
ship, connected with the altar of incense, are to 
ascend. This passage shows us the Lord, who 
was made a little lower than the angels for 
the suffering of death (that speaks of the acacia 
wood), now crowned with glory and honor; His 
deity, as it were, glorifying His perfect human- 
ity: the crown of pure gold is upon His head. 

As risen and glorified, He is now " in the pres- 
ence of God for us," there presenting His praises 
in connection with and for His blood-bought peo- 
ple, confessing our names, and presenting them in 
all the savor and value of His own. A few scrip- 
tures will illustrate this : " Who is he that con- 
demneth ? " This is the answer to the question, 
" Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's 
elect ? " The full answer is, "It is God that jus- 
tifieth; who is he that condemneth ? " (Rom. 8: 
33, 34). The division of the verse&obscures what 
follows, and which is connected with our present 
subject. It should read, " It is Christ that died, 
yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the 



356 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

right hand of God, who also maketh intercession 
for us: who shall separate us from the love of 
Christ?" (Rom. 8: 34, 35). The great answer to 
the first question is, " It is God that justifieth; " 
who therefore can condemn ? Not one! for God 
is the judge of all; and if He in infinite grace 
has made provision for lost and guilty sinners 
who believe in His Son, no creature in the uni- 
verse can say aught, but confess His righteous- 
ness and goodness in it all. 

The second question is, "Who shall separate 
us from the love of Christ? " And the answer, as 
it were, precedes it — Christ has died; that has 
made full satisfaction to divine righteousness. 
He has risen again; that is God's declaration of 
His acceptance of His beloved Son's perfect 
work. He is even at the right hand of God ; no 
place in heaven too high for the One who hum- 
bled Himself unto death for our sakes; and He 
maketh intercession for us, presenting Himself 
as the plea for, and witness of, the eternal 
acceptance of His feeble people. How closely 
all is connected together — His death, resurrec- 
tion and place at God's right hand are all united 
with His all-prevailing intercession. What power, 
or cunning, or malice of the enemy, what tribu- 
lation or persecution, can separate us from the 
love of Christ ? The exultant apostle cries out, 
" Nay, in all these things we are more than con- 
querors through Him that loved us" (ver. 37), 



The golden Altar 357 

and closes with that magnificent outburst, in 
which the sweet savor of a cloud of incense rises 
up in worship to God: "For I am persuaded that 
neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principal- 
ities nor powers, nor things present, nor things to 
come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other crea- 
ture, shall be able to separate us from the love 
of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord " (Rom. 

8:38, 39). 

Connected with this we have another passage: 
" He is able also to save them to the uttermost 
that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liv- 
eth to make intercession for them " (Heb. 7 : 25). 
Though here we have the Priest, yet it is in 
connection with the intercession of which the 
golden altar speaks. His people are contem- 
plated as in the wilderness, subject to every form 
of temptation, trial, or assault of Satan; but " He 
is able," His power is complete, therefore He 
saves "to the uttermost, " completely, to the last 
step of the wilderness trial, them that come to 
God by Him. "To the uttermost " does not mean 
the depths in which the vilest of sinners may be 
— precious fact as that is — but completely, to the 
end, no matter what the future may have in 
store for us. Thus the altar of incense, speaking 
as it does of the glory of Christ, is also a pledge 
of His people's eternal security. Significantly 
their praises are connected with this. 

Coming to the special features of this altar, 



358 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

we notice its dimensions. It was square; one 
cubit each way, and its height was twice that 
much. These dimensions are different from those 
of the ark and table ; the former being 2^ cubits 
long and 1% broad, and the latter 2x1. Each 
was 1^2 cubits high, while the altar of incense 
was two cubits high. Regarding the top of the 
altar, its being a perfect square would suggest 
the perfection of our Lord as the channel of 
praise to God. All in Him was "foursquare," 
even as the heavenly city, which sets forth His 
perfections (Rev. 21 : 16). The one cubit might 
remind us of that divine uniqueness which was 
manifested in \ ' the Man Christ Jesus. " How good 
it is that all the praises and prayers of the saints 
are presented to God according to the absolutely 
perfect nature and infinite value of the Son of 
God. Feeble indeed, and imperfect are our 
praises and prayers, but they are identified with 
Him who is of infinite value in the sight of God. 
It was noticed that the number of the horns 
was not given, nor yet that of the golden rings 
in a definite way. It is conjectured, from the 
analogy of the brazen altar, that there were four; 
but may we not gather significance even from the 
silence of Scripture ? Four, as we have had oc- 
casion to remark, is the number of earth, of the 
creature, of testing, and often of weakness. The 
altar of incense speaks of Christ as the channel 
and power of heavenly praise, and here there is 



The golden Altar 359 

no question of earth. Praise is in the sanctuary, 
the presence of God, and while, to meet the 
people in their condition, the altar was not in the 
most holy place, yet it is evident that worship, 
in its fullest sense, is directly in the presence of 
God. Two scriptures, connected with the in- 
cense, will bear this out. In Leviticus 16: 2, 12, 
God forbids Aaron to enter "at all times " into 
the holy of holies; he cannot do this but once a 
year, with the blood of the sin-offering and a 
cloud of incense in the censer. 

At the details of all this — rich and full — we 
will look later, if the Lord please, when we come 
to consider the priesthood. It must suffice here 
to mark that the censer is taken into the holiest, 
and that it there answered to the altar of in- 
cense The second scripture (Heb. 9: 3, 4) makes 
this all the clearer. The epistle to the Hebrews 
contemplates the veil as rent, through the per- 
fect sacrifice of Christ, and the "way into the 
holiest " is now manifest, whereas under the law 
the veil separated, and only once a year could 
the high priest alone, with the blood of the 
sacrifice and the incense, enter into that awful, 
because most holy, Presence. Therefore in en- 
numerating the various articles of furniture in 
the first tabernacle, "the figures of the true," 
the altar of incense is singularly omitted, and in- 
stead we have "the golden censer" in the holi- 
est. On the day of atonement, when the priest 



360 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

entered the holiest, he in some measure repre- 
sented the truth of the altar of incense being for 
the heavenly place. As, however, the altar re- 
mained outside the veil, the censer is spoken of 
instead. Thus the very silence of God's word is 
instructive. 

May we not here have the clue to the absence 
of the number of horns ? They were distinctly 
spoken of as four upon the brazen altar, for there 
could be no question that atonement had an 
earthly and a world-wide aspect ; but the horns 
here in the sanctuary, while they bear the wit- 
ness of the blood of the sin-offering upon them 
(Lev. 4: 18), are not connected with atonement, 
save as its fruits are there displayed, but with 
the mighty intercession and worship of our Lord 
Jesus Christ. The horns were culminating points 
at the corners, and may in that way suggest that 
they set forth the intensity of meaning of the 
whole altar. Thus they would speak of the 
strength of our divine Lord, in all the energy of 
which He prevails as the Intercessor and Offerer 
of His people's worship. The attention is thus 
drawn to this fact, rather than the need ox earthly 
position of the saints, as would be suggested 
if the number four were given. In like man- 
ner the number four is wanting from the rings 
of this altar. Surely it is significant that this 
number of earth is not found here, even where 
we might naturally expect it. 



The golden Altar 361 

The two cubits in height may also emphasize 
the heavenly character of the altar. Worship, 
the ascribing all honor and glory to God, is the 
highest function of His creatures. Christ, the 
true altar, has thus risen into the highest glory, 
"far above" every thing in earth or heaven, 
and there as the leader of His people's praises, 
s6ts forth the glories of God in a divine way. 

Praise there is "by Him" (Heb. 13:15); it 
sets aside therefore all ritualism and "will- wor- 
ship" in the holy things of God. The truths con- 
nected with the ark are those of acceptance, 
justification and access. May not the added half 
cubit by which the altar rises above the ark sug- 
gest that the time is coming when even those 
transcendent truths will be the groundwork and 
basis of an even higher joy in praise and worship? 
Salvation, with its accompanying blessings fully 
realized, will so fully permeate the whole spirit- 
ual being, that the soul will be at leisure to rise 
above even its own blessings- — though surely 
never to forget them, and how they were pro- 
cured by Christ's death — and to praise and adore 
Him who is above all blessing and praise. Even 
here this may be i; 1 some measure realized, in 
the power of the Holy Spirit. 

The blood upon the horns of the altar, as we 
have said, is the ever-present witness that re- 
demption has been accomplished and accepted, 
and is the basis of worship. And as the value a* 



362 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

the blood of Christ endures for all eternity, so 
also will the praise of His redeemed people. 
"Worthy is the Lamb that was slain" will eter- 
nally set forth the saints' joy in God's thoughts 
as to the person and work of His only begotten 
Son. 

11 Grateful incense this, ascending 

Ever to the Father's throne; 
Every knee to Jesus bending, 

All the mind in heaven is one." 

In this connection we may speak of the in- 
cense (Ex. 30 : 34-38) ; and, as closely connected 
with that, the holy anointing oil with which the 
tabernacle and all its furniture, and the priests, 
were anointed (Ex. 30: 23-33). 

The incense was composed of four " sweet 
spices," in equal proportions, blended ("salted") 
together. This has been taken, with some prob- 
ability, as showing that salt also was added. If 
so, no mention is made of the proportions; in- 
deed no exact quantity of salt is ever mentioned 
in Scripture. "Salt without prescribing how 
much" (Ezra 7: 22). The word may however not 
iefer to actual salt, but to the rubbing and tem- 
pering together of the various ingredients, which 
thus seasoned or " salted" each other. 

The incense was to be offered night and morn- 
ing upon the golden altar, upon coals taken from 
the altar of burnt-offering (Lev. 16: 12). It was 
the fragrance offered within the sanctuary, as 



The golden Altar 363 

the burnt-offering presented the sweet savor out- 
side. The latter was only for the sacrifice, and 
the former only for incense ; the coals from the 
one to the other showing how intimately they 
were linked together. The same holiness ac- 
cepted each, and sacrifice was the basis of praise. 

The incense was composed chiefly of the gums 
which exuded from aromatic plants. They would 
thus seem to suggest the concentrated essence 
of the plant, and in that sense the moral signifi- 
cance and excellence of the acts rather than their 
detail. In nature they would represent probably 
all that was of value in the plant. In general we 
may say they represent all the moral excellence 
of Christ as apprehended by God. But as in the 
burnt-offering all was consumed, because all was 
a sweet savor to God, so in the incense — not the 
residuum, or the best, but all in Him was fragrant. 
Here the type would necessarily fail to set Him 
forth. But in another sense, the motive, spirit, 
and character of all that He did and was may be 
suggested in the spice; the essence of all this 
ever abides before God. It is difficult to con- 
trast, where all was perfect, and where the inner 
and outer were absolutely of the same character. 
We may, however, distinguish between the outer 
details of His life, and the thoughts, desires and 
motives which were thereby expressed. 

Another suggestive thought we get from this 
description of the incense. The general word, 



364 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

translated by " sweet spices, " is derived from a 
root meaning "to be fragrant/' and might be 
rendered "odors." There are in the same pas- 
sage several other words of the same general 
significance: "perfume" is literally incense — 
that which smokes; " a confection," "seasoning," 
after the art of the "apothecary" or "seasoner " 
— the same root. This multiplication of words 
would suggest a fulness in the theme — Christ — 
which cannot be described in one word. The 
" perfume " would suggest His fragrance, as the 
fire of divine holiness tested Him even to death ; 
"confection" might remind us of the blending 
of the various ingredients, according to the art of 
the blessed Spirit of God who is the true "Apoth- 
ecary." May we not truly say: 

" Join all the glorious names 
Of wisdom, love and power, 
That mortals ever knew, 
That angels ever bore ; 
All are too mean to show His worth, 
Too mean to set the Saviour forth." 

We now come to the four ingredients: 
i. Stacte. — This is the Greek word, given in 
the Septuagint, translating the Hebrew word 
nataph, meaning "to drop," "distil," so-called 
from the "drops " of gum which exude from the 
tree producing it; it has also been translated 
" balm," which is a more general word for sweet 
gums, and thought by some to be the styrax } a 



The golden Altar 365 

plant found in Syria; others regard it as a spe- 
cific name for myrrh, found in Arabia; but of this 
there is no definite proof, and it is not probable. 

Thus, beyond the fact that a fragrant sub- 
stance is intended, and that it maybe the styrax, 
we are shut up to tlie significance of the word in 
other portions of Scripture, as giving us its ordi- 
nary use which, taken with its evident use in the 
incense, and probable identification with the 
spice already mentioned, will give us some sug- 
gestive thoughts. 

The word is used for " rain," as in Judges 5:4: 
"The clouds also dropped water; " "He mak- 
eth small the drops of water" (Job 36 : 27); and 
related to this we have the thought of any out- 
flow, as, "The mountains shall drop sweet wine " 
(Amos 9: 13). Growing out of this, or similar to 
it, we have it used in describing the speech as 
flowing forth, or distilling: " My speech dropped 
upon them ; and they waited for me as for the 
rain " (Job 29: 22); "Thy lips . . , drop as the hon- 
eycomb" (Song 4: 11). This lastmightwell find its 
explanation in the direct language of the New 
Testament: "All bare Him witness, and won- 
dered at the gracious words which proceeded out 
of His mouth " (Luke 4: 22). It is also rendered 
"prophecy," as in Micah 2:6; Ezek. 20 : 46, etc. 

From these uses of the word we get the idea 
of the expression, or distillation of the thoughts, 
as in refreshing speech, or in solemn warning. 



366 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

We need not say how completely our Lord illus- 
trated this in every word He uttered, whether 
words of grace and mercy to those who felt their 
helpless condition, or in warning and denunci- 
ation against hypocrites and the self-righteous; 
all was of sweet savor to God" 

But what did such distillation mean for Him ? 
He uttered no idle words, but only those of 
eternal truth, for which He was ready to die. 
We are therefore prepared for the thought that 
the distillation of fragrant gum came from the 
piercing of the tree. So with our Lord; the 
scorn, the mockery, the hatred that pierced Him, 
only drew forth the fragrant submission to God, 
which expressed itself in words of love and truth, 
even when they nailed Him to the cross. Thus 
the sweat "as it were great drops of blood falling 
down to the ground" is of eternally sweet fra- 
grance to God, expressing the depths of "Not 
My will, but Thine, be done." The stacte then 
would suggest to us that outflow of the heart of 
Christ to God, both spontaneous and as enduring 
suffering even unto death. 

2. Onycha is again the Greek word, meaning 
literally a "finger nail," given as the Septuagint 
translation of the Hebrew; also translated scale 
or shell, and might refer to a finger nail. The 
onyx (not to be confounded with the precious stone 
of the same name in English) is spoken of by an- 
cient authors as a shell-fish found in the Red Sea, 



The golden Altar 367 

which being ground up yields a perfume. This 
would be suggestive and in line with what we 
would gather from the meaning of the incense. 
Christ indeed came into the place of death and 
judgment, but how unlike to the murmurings of 
Israel, as they stood trembling by the shore of the 
Red Sea, were His words of absolute submission 
and love. They said, 4< Because there were no 
graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die 
in the wilderness?" (Ex. 14: 11, 12). Yet God 
opened the way through the Red Sea for that 
murmuring crowd to pass over dryshod. But our 
Lord, as He faced that dark sea of death and 
judgment through which He was to pass, to open 
the way for His own to go through in safety, 
said : " The cup which My Father hath given Me 
shall I not drink it?" (Jno. 18: 11). Here in- 
deed was perfume upon the dark shore of death, 
from a life which yielded itself up to be crushed 
under judgment for us. We are told that this 
"onycha" was both a perfume and a medicine — 
fragrant to God, we may say, and healing to the 
sinner: 

"Love that on death's dark vale 

Its sweetest odors shed ; 
Where sin o'er all seemed to prevail, 

Redemption glories shed." 

This shell-fish was said to feed upon the "nard ' 
or stems of fragrant plants by the water, and 
this again may serve to remind us that our Lord 



368 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

fed not from the flesh-pots of Egypt, but upon 
His Father's will, even though it led to the giving 
up of His life: " This commandment have I re- 
ceived of My Father." 

3. Galbanum is found only in this place (as was 
the case also with the previous word), and we 
have therefore to glean its meaning largely from 
its etymology. Both Greek and English words 
are simply transliterations from the Hebrew, and 
not translations. The principal part of the root 
means to be fat or fertile, and in that way may 
refer to the sap, the " fatness " of the plant, the 
best or vital part. To this has been added the 
thought (from the termination) of " lamentation/' 
which would again recall those griefs of the 
"Man of Sorrows," which, however, never mar- 
red the perfections of a " fatness " which was all 
for God. 

What is now known by "galbanum" is a res- 
inous gum obtained from the eastern coast of 
Africa and from Arabia, of a bitter acrid taste, 
and musty or disagreeable odor, but which adds 
strength and persistence to the other ingredients. 
It is said to have the power of driving away vermin 
and reptiles, and also to have medicinal virtues. 
We are not, then, without suggestive thoughts 
which are applicable to our Lord Jesus. How 
truly did all the energy of will, as suggested by 
the " fat," express itself in devotion to His Father, 
This is set forth at large in the teaching of the 



The golden Altar 369 

sacrifices. What holy and sustained energy was 
His: " My meat is to do the will of Him that sent 
Me " (Jno. 4 : 34). All this was absolutely and 
only given to God. Was the path one of suffering 
and of sorrow ? It surely was ; but never of 
murmuring or repining. Did not that very en- 
ergy of a will that hungered only to obey God 
give character and tone to all the fragrance of 
His life ? The " fatness " added persistence to 
the fragrance of His sorrows and love. To be 
sure, for those who had no heart for Him, 
to whom He was without form or comeliness, 
this "galbanum" was repulsive, because too 
pungent. For One never to have a thought but 
His Father's will, never to take interest in the 
world apart from God, never to come down to the 
level of ordinary men, it was "too much.' , Ah, 
how that divine energy galled the slothful pride 
of Pharisees and Herodians. How its pungent 
savor pierced their shallow minds and hypocrit^ 
ical hearts. How the unworldliness of it smote 
upon conscience and heart of those who lived for 
this world. And even with His own, the savor of 
the " galbanum " was at times beyond their faith, 
and disclosed their state of soul. Peter's affec- 
tionate dissuasion, when the Lord foretold His 
cross, " Be it far from Thee, Lord : this shall not 
be unto Thee " (Matt. 16; 22), met with no gentle 
words: "Get thee behind Me, Satan; thou art 
an offence unto Me : for thou savorest not the 



370 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

things that be of God, but those that be of men." 
Mere earthly affection, expressed by one who 
should have had other motives, was an offense 
when it sought to turn Him from His Father's 
will. But though thus seemingly harsh, how this 
very energy which refused an easy path, told out 
a devotion of heart to God which gave character, 
as we have seen, to all that was in Him. Thus 
the galbanum has its voice for us. How such 
pungent energy drives out the "serpent" and 
his whole vermin brood, while it heals the broken- 
hearted who come in their sin and need to Him. 
4. Frankincense makes up in the frequency of 
its occurrence in Scripture for the rarity of the 
other words; it is also a well-known spice. The 
word in the original is from a root meaning " to 
be white." Thus Mount Lebanon, the same 
word, received its name probably from the white 
limestone rock of which it is largely composed. 
The name has been supposed to be given to the 
frankincense because of the whiteness of the pure 
gum; this would also suit the white flame with 
which it burns. The Greek word is a transliter- 
ation of the Hebrew, and the English frankm- 
cense refers to its freely-burning qualities. This 
gum is obtained in Arabia, and is of a bitter 
taste. It comes from a tree bearing flowers with 
five petals and ten stamens; the fruit is five- 
sided, and there are five species of the plant. It 
grows upon almost bare marble rocks, draw- 



The golden Altar 371 

ing its sustenance from these. The gum is ob- 
tained from incisions, and is very valuable. 
Besides being in demand for incense, it is useful 
as a medicine, and an antidote to poison. 

Here, then, we have a fulness of suggestion as 
to our Lord who, " as a root out of a dry ground," 
grew in the arid wilderness of this world, where 
naturally there was nothing to sustain. The 
characteristic number Jive, stamped upon so 
much of the tabernacle, would suggest, in the 
flowers, fruit and species of this plant, the truth 
of Him who was the Word made flesh. That it 
should extract nourishment and fragrance from 
marble, suggests the two-fold thought that He 
flourished in that pure and perfect will of God 
which put Him in a barren world, but where He 
gathered in every way that which was fragrant 
to God. The incision through which the gum 
flowed reminds us that His piercing drew forth 
the sweet perfume of entire submission to God — 
priceless indeed to God as a sweet savor, and the 
perfect antidote to Satan's poison with which he 
drugged man, a healing medicine for the deepest 
ills of the soul. 

These are merest hints which find illustration 
upon every page of the Gospels, to be used — 
may it be so! — as the real frankincense of wor- 
ship, presenting the sweet savor of Christ to 
God. 

We will also refer to several passages of 



372 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

Scripture where frankincense is spoken of, to 
gather illustrations of its meaning and use. The 
meat-offering of fine flour had frankincense put 
upon it, and when only part of the meal was to be 
burned, all the frankincense was consumed (Lev. 
2: 1, 2). The showbread which was put upon the 
golden table had frankincense put upon it (Lev. 
24: 7) "for a memorial. V Here the meat-offer- 
ing and the showbread both speak of the person 
of our Lord, and the frankincense would suggest 
His preciousness to God, and to all who have 
the thoughts of God, as we sing: 

" The mention of Thy Name shall bow 
Our hearts to worship Thee." 

"Who is this that cometh out of the wilder- 
ness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh 
and frankincense ? " (Song 3:6); "I will get me 
to . . . the hill of frankincense" (Song 4:6). 
Here, in the " Song of loves," the excellence of 
Christ is set forth under this symbol of fragrant 
incense. That it was but a symbol is seen in 
God's rebuke through the prophet when it be- 
came a mere form: "To what purpose cometh 
there unto Me incense ?" (Jer. 6: 20). « 

The blessing to the Gentiles in the coming 
day of Christ's glory is set forth in this same 
symbolic language : "All they from Sheba shall 
come: they shall bring gold and incense; and 
they shall show forth the praises of the Lord " 



The golden Altar 373 

(Isa. 60: 6). The visit of the " wise men " to the 
Holy Infant at Bethlehem was a foreshadow of 
this blessed time, and significantly their gifts, 
along with the gold of His divine glory, included 
the frankincense of His excellence, and the 
myrrh, foretelling His death (Matt. 2: n). 

Gathering tip what we have learned, the 
" stacte " suggests the fragrant outflow of speech, 
of act and of life yielded even unto death in our 
Lord. The " onycha " recalls especially His being 
crushed in death, but still yielding only the fra- 
grance of complete devotedness to God. The 
"galbanum" recalls the holy energy which 
knew but one object, and which rebuked all half- 
hearted loyalty or pretense. The" frankincense" 
speaks of His purity, which found expression in 
absolute consecration to God. 

These ingredients were to be taken in equal 
parts, and in the order mentioned; nothing was 
out of proportion. Each balanced the other, not 
by counteracting, as is so needed in man, but as 
enhancing the fragrance and bringing out its 
true character. Thus, we may say, if there had 
been an undue proportion of the stacte — of sweet- 
ness and fragrance alone — although this was 
first — it would have palled upon the sense ; or if 
the galbanum had dominated the others, there 
would have been lacking the "meekness and 
gentleness of Christ " (2 Cor. 10: 1). Too much 
onycha would have cast too dark a gloom upon 



374 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

all His life, and more than the proper amount 
of frankincense, burning so freely, would have 
hastened His departure to the Father before 
His hour "had come " (Jno. 13: 1). 

But all was blended together in the power of 
the Spirit, so that the result was a "perfume, a 
confection," absolutely sweet and delightful to 
the infinite God, and tempered together accord- 
ing to the "salt" of the eternal covenant (Lev. 
2: 13), which sets forth the perpetual character 
of Him of whom all speaks, and the eternal na- 
ture of that praise of which He is the theme. 

Feeble indeed are words here to express that 
which ever exceeds our highest thoughts. But 
if God has in grace set before us the elements in 
the character of His Son, true humility will seek 
to gather the lessons He would convey. 

Let us ever remember also that what is neces- 
sarily looked upon as composite in the symbol, 
and as wrought together by external power and 
skill, was in our Lord the necessary and only 
possible character. We say, If this or that had 
been out of proportion, but that could not be; 
He was perfect, only that, and could have been 
nothing else. No perfume like that of the in- 
cense could be manufactured by man: hence the 
blasphemy of those who talk of imitating Him, 
or who degrade Him by co-ordinating Him with 
- — we do not say prominent characters in history, 
\s Buddha or Mohammed — but Moses, or Elias, 



The golden Altar 375 

or one of the prophets. No, this incense was 
but for one purpose, to be put upon the golden 
altar, and to shed its fragrance before One who 
alone fully " knoweth the Son" (Matt, n : 27). 
An eternal hell is the portion of those who refuse 
to give the Christ of God His true and only place 
before God. " Who is a liar but he that denieth 
that Jesus is the Christ ? " (1 Jno. 2 : 22). We need 
not be surprised therefore to find that those 
who deny the hopelessly incurable nature of sin, 
and the eternal punishment for man's guilt, 
should be the same who degrade the Son of God, 
and deny the value of His atoning death. These 
all stand or fall together. If sin is not what God 
declares it to be, reverently be it said, Christ is 
not what that same Authority sets Him forth to 
be. Along with this, however, would go all truth; 
there would be no God, no Creator, no creation 
— nothing stable for our faith. Such is the mad 
folly of Satan's lie, and of man who following 
him would liken the Holy One of God to any of 
the children of men (Ps. 45: 2). 

While the character of our Lord shines forth 
with special luster in the four Gospels where He 
is the direct theme, we must ever remember 
that the entire Scripture is " the word of Christ'' 
(Col. 3: 16). Christ is God's thought from the be- 
ginning to the close of the word of God. There- 
fore He is the Alpha and Omega of divine truth 
in that sense also. We shall therefore find Him 



376 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

set forth on every page, by type or symbol, in 
act or history, or human characters. It is the 
Holy Spirit who thus delights to lead the devout 
soul to bring the spices from afar — to gather the 
fragrant stacte from Genesis, the onycha from 
Exodus, the pungent galbanum from the frown- 
ing heights of Sinai itself and the Prophets, and 
the frankincense from the Song of Songs, and 
to find these all tempered together in those 
psalms of praise where Christ is the theme. Or, 
to vary the simile, faith will gather with delight 
each and all these species, or find them blended 
in every part of that "good land and large" 
spread out upon the word of God. Alas, that our 
hearts should be cold under such themes as 
these, or should ever traffic in this holy perfume 
to secure the praise of man! Let us not fail 
to be truly exercised in conscience, that obe- 
dience and a fruitful life may show our ap- 
preciation of God's Son. Mary's ointment was 
costly, and we may be sure it cost her much, but 
Christ so filled her soul that personal cost was 
not in her mind. There is a divine and necessary 
link between the character of the Lord and that 
of His people, who are fashioned, in some meas- 
ure, by the truth which occupies them. May His 
grace effect this in the heart of writer and 
reader, to His praise. 

The whole matter of the altar, the incense and 
the ointment is so closely connected with the 



The golden Altar 377 

priesthood that the significance is manifest. All 
true worship must be in the name of and by the 
Priest. All full and intelligent worship must be 
through Him who has passed into the holiest 
having obtained eternal redemption (Heb. 9: 12). 
This emphasizes the fact that all worship must 
be based upon the accomplished sacrifice of our 
Lord Jesus. God must righteously judge sin; but 
in His love He has done this in the person of His 
beloved Son, who as the sin-bearer cried out, 
4 ' My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me ? M 
(Ps. 22: 1). The answer to that question of the 
holy Sufferer is given by Himself: " But Thou 
art holy, O Thou that inhabitest the praises of 
Israel " (ver. 3). It is because God is holy that 
sin must be judged — most solemn, yet most bless- 
ed truth. What rest could there be for creation 
if its Author and Sustainer were not absolutely 
holy and righteous ? But, blessed be God, the 
judgment has been borne by the divine Substi- 
tute, and therefore never will be visited upon His 
people. Now, therefore, God can dwell among 
them, and their praises flow forth. But they 
could not be near to Him, had not the holy One 
been forsaken of God ; their songs of praise could 
not rise to Him, had not the anguish of Christ 
told out the awful yet blessed fact that God was 
there pouring out upon Him the wrath we de- 
served. Later on we shall see how all this truth 
shines out in the altar of burnt-offering, with 



378 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

which the altar of incense was indissolubly con- 
nected. The coals from the altar of burnt-offer- 
ing, where the atoning sacrifice had gone up as 
a sweet savor to God, were used to kindle the 
incense at the golden altar. 

This is gathered from the fact that fire was 
always burning upon the brazen altar (Lev. 6: 
12, 13). There was special warning as to "strange 
fire.'* The one fire was that upon this brazen 
altar, type of that divine holiness and righteous- 
ness which on the cross consumed the perfect 
Sacrifice, Christ. All else is "strange fire " (Lev. 
10: 1). This fire upon the brazen altar came out 
from before the Lord and consumed the sacrifice 
(Lev. 9 : 24). This manifests the blasphemy of 
Nadab and Abihu who, in closest connection 
with that manifestation, despised the holy fire 
and took that of their own kindling to offer in- 
cense. Therefore the despised fire came forth 
again, not to consume the sacrifice, which had 
already been done, but to cut off in judgment 
those who refused to bow to God's manifest will, 
expressed in perfect grace. 

The two altars, therefore, must not be sepa- 
rated: praise must ever be based upon the sacri- 
fice of Christ. It could not be otherwise without 
denying the very character of God and His truth. 
The praise of heaven, round the golden altar, 
will be "Unto Him that loveth us and washed 
us from our sins in His own blood, and hath 



The golden Altar 379 

made us kings and priests unto God and His 
Father; to Him be glory and dominion forever 
and ever" (Rev. i: 5, 6). 

Fittingly therefore does the Psalmist, in 
speaking of the house for the lonely sparrow 
and a nest for the restless swallow, refer to these 
two altars: "Yea, the sparrow hath found a 
house, and the swallow a nest for herself where 
she may lay her young, even Thine altars, O Lord 
of hosts, my King and my God " (Ps. 84: 3). Both 
altars are thus connected together, and form the 
solid and abiding rest for the poor and needy 
soul. 

Thus too when Isaiah saw the glory of the 
Lord in the temple, and the adoring seraphim 
with veiled faces celebrating the majesty of the 
thrice holy, triune God, he was overwhelmed 
with the sense of his own and Israel's unclean- 
ness, until one of those "burning ones" (sug- 
gesting, perhaps, the fire of God as seen in His 
executors of judgment) flew with a live coal 
which he had taken from off the altar, and 
touched his lips, saying, " Lo, this hath touched 
thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken aw r ay, and 
thy sin purged " (Isa. 6: 7). The coal of divine 
holiness had already consumed the sacrifice, and 
was also consuming the sweet incense. Thus 
symbolically the prophet's lips were cleansed 
according to God's estimate of the value of the 
sacrifice and the person of our Lord. 



380 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

Recurring to another solemn scene of judg- 
ment, we get another view of this same vital 
truth, the more strongly emphasized by its con- 
nection with the true and effectual use of the 
incense. Korah and his company had disowned 
Aaron as the priest of God, by claiming equal 
sanctity and nearness for all Israel: "Ye take 
too much upon you, seeing all the congregation 
are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is 
among them: wherefore then lift ye up your- 
selves above the congregation of the Lord" 
(Num. 16: 3). With this "fair show" of piety, 
were they not claiming equal priestly privileges 
for all, and was not this right ? But it filled 
Moses with horror, and he fell upon his face. 
He saw that it was not only a refusal of Aaron 
(ver. 11), but of the fact that, as a sinful people, 
they could have no possible standing before God 
save through the priest who offered the sacrifice. 
In other words, this "gainsaying of Korah" in- 
volved the denial of Christ's person and His 
sacrificial work. It was in that sense a symbolic 
Unitarianism. 

Speedily are all made to see the blasphemy of 
these "sinners against their own souls" (vers. 
38, 39). They take brazen censers (significantly 
they are not of gold, but of that which speaks of 
judgment), and off er incense : "And there came 
out a fire from the Lord, and consumed the 250 
men that offered incense " (ver. 35). How all 



The golden Altar 381 

this reiterates the eternal truth — none but Christ, 
none but Christ. 

But God is a God of grace as well as of judg- 
ment, and so the next day when for the murmur- 
ing of the people the plague was made to fall 
upon them, Aaron, the true priest, is told to 
4 • Take a censer, and put fire therein from off the 
altar [of burnt-offering] and put on incense, and 
go quickly unto the congregation, and make an 
atonement for them " (ver. 46). Aaron does this, 
standing with his censer "between the living 
and the dead." Faith recognizes here the Great 
High Priest, infinitely above us, who with the 
sweet savor of His person and the memorial of 
His sacrifice, interposes in behalf of His people 
in the fragrance that sets Him forth. 

It is also suggestive that the word used for the 
burning of the burnt-offering and the burning of 
the incense is the same. It is from a word mean- 
ing to "ascend," different from that used in 
burning the sin-offering without the camp, which 
is to "consume." Thus we are reminded that it 
was not only the devouring judgment of God 
manifested in the atoning death of our Lord, but 
that His death was indeed "precious" to God. 
For special reasons, when dealing with sin as 
sin, He must show what is its only desert. 

This must suffice, in this connection, to show 
the significance of the altar of incense and that 
which was connected with it. A few practi- 



382 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

cal thoughts will close this part of our subject. 

All the people of God have been made priests, 
by divine grace, through the precious blood of 
Christ: "Ye also . . . are built up a spiritual 
house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual 
sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ " 
(i Pet. 2: 5). Aaron was to burn incense on the 
golden altar when he trimmed the lamps in the 
morning and when he lighted them at night (Ex. 
30: 7). All is here seen to be the work of Aaron ; 
for the fitting and preparing of His saints, 
whether for testimony or worship, is the work of 
our great High Priest, its effects being manifest 
in the saints. Our worship is produced by His 
grace, in connection with the needed work of 
correction, suggested in the trimming of the 
lamps. 

All praise is to be "by Him" (Heb. 13: 15). 
The incense is to be upon the golden altar alone. 
Thus the linking of the name of our Lord Jesus 
with every prayer and thanksgiving is not a form, 
bat a reality, a necessity. Could there be one 
particle of praise or a single prayer acceptable to 
God, save "by Him ?'" This sacrifice of praise is 
to be continual, in times of darkness as well as 
of light; it is the fruit of the lips confessing His 
name. Christ is the altar, the basis of praise ; and 
the incense, the material of praise. Nothing is 
so sweet to God as the name of Christ; that is 
praise which offers that savor to God in truth — 



The golden Altar 383 

confessing what He has done and what He is. 
Praise is not offering our feelings or our state to 
God, though it will be accompanied by joy and 
gladness, but it is the confessing of Christ, and 
He produces joy in the heart of the true wor- 
shiper — the sinner saved by grace. 

To all this Christ adds the savor of His own 
blessed person. Feeble and cold are the praises 
in themselves, but the High Priest has "much 
incense " to offer with them, and they go up to 
God with all the energy and in the perfect ac- 
ceptance of Christ (Rev. 8: 3, 4). It is Himself 
who says, "I will declare Thy name unto My 
brethren, in the midst of the Church will I sing 
praise unto Thee " (Heb 2 : 12). Here is the 
Priest in company with the priestly family, whom 
He is not ashamed to call brethren, leading their 
praises up to God. How this dignifies and ele- 
vates all true worship. It is the praise of Christ, 
even as David was said to praise God through the 
company of Levites who offered up thanksgiving 
in the tabernacle (2 Chr. 7: 6). 

Linked with this offering of praise is the practi- 
cal expression of it: "But to do good and to com- 
municate forget not, for with such sacrifices God 
is well pleased " (Heb. 13: 16). We have an illus- 
tration of this in the way the apostle speaks of 
the temporal ministry of the Philippians to his 
need: small it may have been if measured by the 
world's standards, but of immeasurable value to 



384 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

God because produced by the Spirit of Christ: 
"An odor of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, 
well-pleasing to God" (Phil. 4: 18). Nothing 
can be small or of slight value to God which has 
the savor of Christ with it. The "two mites " of 
the widow have pervaded all places where the 
savor of His name is made known (Luke 21 : 2-4). 
And so, not only giving, but any true ministry to 
the people of Christ is associated with the golden 
altar. May we not say, to use the language of 
men, that God's attention is arrested wherever 
He detects even a faint trace of the fragrance of 
His Son produced by His grace? 

Reference is made, in a solemn way, to this 
savor of Christ's name in 2 Corinthians 2: 14-17. 
In the boldness and liberty of faith the apostle 
speaks of his journeyings from one place to an- 
other with the glad tidings of Christ, as the pro- 
gress of a triumphant soldier who himself through 
grace was a captive to Christ, and is now led 
along in the triumph of that victorious Leader. 
He is used to spread forth the glory of that tri- 
umph by making manifest the sweet savor of 
Christ in every place, both toward them that are 
saved and in them that perish. 

It is said that sweet spices were burned at the 
triumphs of the Roman generals. As they made 
their entry into the city with a multitude of cap- 
tives following, the burning of the sweet odors 
were a savor of life to those who participated in 



The golden Altar 385 

that triumph, but to the captives who were to be 
turned over to the lions, these odors were a savor 
of death. The odors were thus a savor and a 
foretaste either of life or of death. So with the 
excellence of Christ: to those who, through grace 
bow to Him, who receive forgiveness and life, 
those sweet odors of His praise are the foretaste 
of life in eternal fulness and joy; but to those 
who in pride reject His grace, these praises tell 
of judgment in eternal separation from the light 
and love and joy of heaven. 

Lastly, we will speak of the staves by which 
the altar of incense was carried through the wil- 
derness. It was to accompany the people through 
all their journey. It is in connection with this 
pilgrim character, separating from the world 
and its religion, that the true spirit of praise is 
maintained : " Let us go forth therefore unto 
Him without the camp, bearing His reproach 
. . . By Him therefore let us offer the sacrifice 
of praise to God continually" (Heb. 13: 13-15). 
With their faces toward Christ, their backs to the 
world, and seeking the heavenly city, these are 
the true worshipers. 

This golden altar was to follow Gods people 
in all their journeyings, of which the staves 
wherewith to carry it remind us; for however 
long or dangerous the way, the praises of God 
are to characterize His people, as a foretaste of 
that eternal praise which awaits them in glory. 



386 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

This is suggested in the 84th psalm, which speaks 
of a resting-place found at the altars first, so 
that, throughout the entire journey, valleys of 
Baca become wells of refreshing and strength 
for the way, until " Every one of them in Zion 
appeareth before God." 

The fifteen Songs of degrees (Ps. 120-134) 
bring out the same thought of the staves — praise 
while they progress, until the end is reached. 
These " songs" were the praises of the people 
as they went up to Jerusalem for the worship of 
their feasts, and suggest Israel's recall in the 
latter day from their wanderings back to God, 
the source of all their joy; and in an even higher 
sense of the entire journey which leads up to 
the "city which hath foundations, whose Builder 
and Maker is God" (Heb. 11: 10). Every stage 
of the journey, from the loneliness of the soul 
dwelling with those who "hate peace " (Ps. 120) 
to the songs of the servants of the Lord who 
cease not day and night to praise Him (Ps. 134). 
is marked by praise. 

These are the true " stations, "marked by Him 
whose altar accompanies His beloved ones 
wherever He may lead them throughout their 
journey. 



w 



LECTURE XVI 

The Anointing Oil 
(Ex. 30:22-33.) 

E will now speak of the " holy anointing 
oil," as that is also spoken of in connection 
with the golden altar and the incense (Ex. 37 : 29). 
Its use will come before us more particularly in 
the dedication of the priests. Its ingredients and 
manner of preparation are given in the same 
chapter which described the incense (Ex. 30 : 

22 -33)- 

1. Myrrh. — This was the gum from a dwarf 

tree of the terebinth family, growing in Arabia. 
The gum exudes from the trunk either spontan- 
eously, or through incisions made for the pur- 
pose. That prescribed for the ointment was 
"pure," literally "free" — the best, what had 
flowed spontaneously. Some have thought this 
described it as " liquid." Be that as it may, 
there is evidently the idea that it was the best. 
It is fragrant to the smell, but very bitter to the 
taste. Indeed the word is the same as that for 
"bitterness" in the familiar " Marah " (Ex. 15: 
23). It was used as a perfume, as a medicine for 
deadening pain (Mark 15: 23), also for correcting 
secretions, and as a modifier of other medicines. 
We have already alluded to the significance of 



388 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

the word. The primary root means " to flow;'* 
from this comes the idea of the gum which flows 
from the tree ; but as this is extremely bitter, it 
gives its name to "bile " and other bitter things 
— the bitter water of Marah, the water of jealousy 
(Num. 5: 18). Naomi called herself Mara, "for 
the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me " 
(Ruth 1: 20). The " discontented " who resorted 
to David at the cave of- Adullam, were literally 
"bitter of soul," and the prophet declares that 
it is "an evil thing and bitter" to forsake the 
Lord (Jer. 2: 19). 

The word for pure is, as we have seen, literally 
"free." It is the word from which is derived 
the "swallow," which flies in circles, at liberty 
(Ps. 84: 3). "Liberty" was proclaimed in the 
year of jubilee (Lev. 25: 10), to which allusion is 
made by the prophet, as that which is proclaimed 
by the Lord (Isa. 61: 1). 

To myrrh itself there are distinct scriptural 
references: "All Thy garments smell of myrrh, 
and aloes and cassia " (Ps. 45 : 8). The Lord is de- 
scribed in the Song of Solomon, as coming out of 
the wilderness, " like pillars of smoke, perfumed 
with myrrh and frankincense " (Song 3: 6). He 
also mentions the same fragrant spice in connec- 
tion with the bride (Song 4:6,14). The Beloved put 
it upon the handles of the lock as He withdrew 
from the door (5: 5). The bride mentions His 
lips as " dropping sweet-smelling myrrh "(5 : 13). 



The anointing Oil 389 

In the New Testament, myrrh was one of the 
gifts brought by the wise men (Matt 2: n). It 
was brought, mixed with aloes, by Nicodemus, 
to embalm the body of the Lord as He was laid 
in the grave (Jno. 19: 39). 

Gathering up these thoughts, we will see how 
they apply to our Lord. Flowing spontaneously 
from the tree, as well as through incisions, 
would suggest on the one hand how willingly 
He offered all that He was, even unto death, to 
God, and on the other the " piercing " to which 
He was subjected by man, but which only brought 
out the same fragrance. The bitterness of the 
myrrh suggests the reality of the sufferings 
through which He went. It was not physical 
discomfort and pain, nor even death, which gave 
intensity to His suffering, but the "contradiction 
of sinners against Himself" (Heb. 12: 3). His 
very presence in a world where all was against 
God was bitter to Him. How His perfect soul, 
enjoying fullest communion with His Father, 
recognized what an evil and bitter thing it was 
for man to forsake the Lord ! Who could measure 
sin like the sinless One ? And it is He who has 
tasted, and drunk to the dregs, the bitter cup of 
God's wrath against sin. 

But all this bitter experience only furnished 
the occasion for the manifestation not only of a 
devotedness to God which was perfectly fragrant 
to Him, but of a love to His own which was as 



390 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

strong as death. Thus the myrrh left upon the 
lock of the door of the one dear to Him might 
well remind her, and us, of an unchanging love 
which would appeal to the closed heart, and ask 
for admittance to fullest communion. 

And what has been the measure of this love ? 
The myrrh again, from its association with death, 
may well tell us that it "passeth knowledge " 
(Eph. 3: 19). "The Son of God who loved me 
and gave Himself for me " (Gal. 2 : 20) — a meas- 
ure which cannot be measured, freely flowing 
from Him whose heart was pierced by and for 
our sins. Feeble indeed is the estimate we put 
upon that love at best; but One estimates it at 
its full value. 

Nor is such love narrowed, save by the unbe- 
lief of man; for its " fulness " may well speak to 
us not only of the voluntary character of all His 
devotion, even unto death, but that it is without 
money or price to " whosoever will. " It brings 
to every believer, M Liberty to the captive," the 
true year of jubilee; for " if the Son shall make 
you free, ye shall be free indeed " (Jno. 8: 36). 
And we already have the blessed earnest of the 
coming "liberty of the glory of the children of 
God," while we wait for the adoption, the re- 
demption of the body (Rom. 8: 23). Then indeed 
will the fragrance of the myrrh pervade the wide 
creation, and the savor of His ointment bewray 
itself to an adoring universe. Meanwhile it is 



The anointing Oil 391 

sweet to God, and to the saints, and good indeed 
as medicine for the sin-sick soul. 

Our blessed Lord refused the wine and myrrh 
for Himself at the hand of men; He would drink 
to its dregs the bitter cup of their sin, without 
any attempt to mitigate or palliate it. Marah's 
bitter waters are made sweet by the " tree " cast 
into them. 

" Death's bitter waters met our thirst, 
Thy cross has made them sweet." 

And do we not see this cup of comfort put into 
the hands of His suffering saints who are pass- 
ing through fiery trials, even to facing death ? 
11 Be thou faithful unto death and I will give thee 
the crown of life," is the promise of Him who 
"was dead and is alive " — a promise appropriately 
given to Smyrna, "myrrh," as the word really 
is (Rev. 2: 8-1 1). 

In solemn contrast to all this wealth of love 
and grace is the blasphemy of that adulterous 
woman, who claims these fragrant odors for her- 
self, and uses them as an attraction for the un- 
godly (Prov. 7: 17). This is all the more terrible 
when we see in her the one who, we may say, 
beginning in Smyrna as "Jews " (professed peo- 
ple of God who have not owned their lost con- 
dition), goes on in Pergamos to stumbling the 
saints; and in Thyatira, teaching them to com- 
mit fornication with the world, and displayed as 



392 Lectures on the Tabernacle 



<< 



that woman Jezebel," who as the world-church, 
is finally seen as " Babylon the great ■' in all her 
lewdness, to meet her just doom (Rev. 2: 12-29; 
Rev. 17, 18). There, too, she is seen trafficking 
in a stolen fragrance (for she has no heart for 
Christ) — "Cinnamon and odors and frankin- 
cense" (Rev. 18: 13). Wherever she is recog- 
nized, let the saints of God heed the call: "Come 
out of her, My people, that ye be not partakers 
of her sins, and that ye receive not of her 
plagues" (Rev. 18: 4). 

2. Sweet Cinnamon. — The only other passages 
where this word is used is the sad one to which 
we have just referred (Prov. 7: 17), and one in 
blessed contrast, where the true bride is de- 
scribed as having all these fragrant perfumes 
put upon her — surely, by grace alone (Song 4: 
14). Of the general meaning we are assured, 
but let us search if we may find what is distinc- 
tive in it. 

There seems to be no doubt that this spice is 
the same that is familiar to us under the same 
name ; it is the bark of a small evergreen tree of 
the laurel family. Another tree of the same 
family is the fragrant camphor. The odor of the 
cinnamon is sweet and its taste agreeable; it is 
largely used for flavoring. A valuable essential 
oil is extracted from the bark having these pro- 
perties in an intensified form. It is obtained 
chiefly from Ceylon, and probably brought from 



The anointing Oil 393 

India in the times of the Exodus. The bark is 
obtained from the young shoots. As a medicine, 
it is a stimulant and cordial. 

Seeking for light as to its spiritual significance 
from the etymology of the word, we are met 
with uncertainty. One authority derives it from 
a " doubtful and obsolete " root, nearly the same 
as the " calamus," at which we will look next. 
The primary significance of this root, is to stand 
erect, and this might find justification in the fact 
that it is the canes, or reed-like shoots, from 
which the bark is taken.* The erect rods of the 
young shoots would suggest all the vigor and 
energy and uprightness of our Lord. The bark 



* The writer suggests a possible derivation from two well- 
known Hebrew words: Kinna, "jealousy," from the root to 
glow or burn, or be zealous ; and min, ' ' form' ' or ' ' appearance. ' ' 
The "appearance of jealousy.' ' We need not say what burning 
zeal marked our Lord's entire life — "The zeal of Thy house 
hath eaten me up" (Jno. 2 : 17). And this was shown in the 
holy form of jealousy which would purge that house of all the 
carnal traffic which had been introduced there. l ' Love is strong 
as death ; jealousy is cruel as the grave : the coals thereof are 
coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame " (Song 8:6). 
This gives, at least, a beautiful and significant meaning, and 
accords with the character of our Lord — a love which was zeal 
for God's glory and for " the place where Thine honor dwelleth" 
(Ps. 26 : 8). In love for that He would let His own temple, 
His holy body, be laid low in death. Here was indeed a jeal- 
ousy of a new form — jealousy for God alone, without one ele- 
ment of selfishness in it. Cruel it was, only in the sense of 
bearing cruelty rather than suffer one blot to rest upon God's 
glory — it burned with " a most vehement flame." 



394 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

removed would remind us of the removal of the 
skin from the animal — the outer covering. So 
to cut away the bark from a tree would take its 
life also. We need not be surprised to find this 
witness of death coming in with each of these 
perfumes. The cross was the great necessity of 
divine love if Christ was to make the Father 
truly known. 

Connected with the word for cinnamon is one 
translated " sweet," from a root allied with our 
"balsam," and meaning "fragrance." This 
would put double emphasis upon this fragrant 
spice. Possibly the mention of the balsam may 
suggest that the essence of the bark was ex- 
tracted and used. At this we will look later. 

It is well too to recall the fact that this tree 
was an evergreen, passing through no periods of 
inertness. So our Lord was ever the unchang- 
ingly devoted One, whose leaf did not wither in 
time of drought or cold. In the midst of the arid 
waste of unbelief — as at Chorazin and Bethsaida 
and Capernaum — there were no marks of feeble- 
ness upon Him: " I thank thee, O Father," was 
His language there as everywhere. 

Here too is medicine, a spiritual tonic and 
cordial for the faint-hearted. This love and de- 
votedness of our Lord, which knew no change, 
is not only a most powerful example, but in His 
grace that which cheers and encourages the 
fainting of His beloved people. For all tendency 



The anoiating Oil 395 

to let the hands hang down, let His saints par- 
take largely of that love which consumed Him — 
a love for His Father and His glory, and, for that 
very reason, for all His own. 

3. Sweet Calamus. — There is no question as to 
the derivation of the word here, as it is one of 
frequent occurrence and varied application in 
Scripture. But for this reason we have little 
to indicate what was its specific character. 
The root- word means "to stand upright; " hence 
a cane, or reed. The "sweet," as in the case of 
the cinnamon, tells of its fragrance, and this 
would seem to give us the clue to the article in- 
tended. A "sweet cane" is said to be found in 
Lebanon, also in India and Arabia. It usually 
grows in miry soil, from which it sends up the 
shoots from which its name is derived. The fra- 
grant cane of India is supposed to have been the 
" spikenard " of Scripture. 

The fragrance was obtained by crushing the 
plant. Various meanings of the word "cane" 
are suggestive. It was applied to a "stalk "of 
grain (Gen. 41: 5) ; to the "branches" of the 
golden candlestick (Ex. 25 : 31); to a "reed" 
shaken in the water (1 Kings 14: 15); used also 
for measuring (Ezek. 40 : 3) ; to the balancing 
rod of a scale (Isa. 40: 12) ; to a staff (Isa. 36: 6). 
Its place of growth, the mire, is alluded to (Isa. 19 : 
6). Its fragility is used to illustrate the grace 
of Him who will not break a bruised reed (Isa. 



396 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

42: 3). Most of these would have special applica- 
tion to our Lord: His absolute righteousness, 
uprightness, which also makes Him the balance 
and the measuring reed to weigh and measure 
men — to find them wanting, and yet to patiently 
wait on them, yea, to visit them in grace. 

But it is with the fragrant reed that we have 
to do directly, though the qualities above referred 
to may suggest something of the character of the 
fragrance (see also Isa. 43: 24; Jer. 6: 20; Song 
4 : 14; Ezek. 27 : 19). Its growth in the mire 
may remind us of One who in the mire of this 
world grew up erect and fragrant for God. Man 
grows in the mire and gravitates toward it — like 
the man with the muck rake, who was bowed to 
earth, and saw not the crown of glory offered to 
him. But our Lord had His eyes and heart only 
on the heaven above. The mire of earth was 
but the place where He had come for a special 
work. Men might grovel in that mire, as, alas, 
we have ; a Job finds that his self-righteousness 
was covered with the mire of the ditch (Job 9: 
31). But His surroundings were only the contrast 
to that erect and perfect life which ever pointed 
heavenward. His treasure, His all, was with the 
Father. And wherever He found a "bruised 
reed," to lift it from the mire and establish it 
erect was the purpose of His heart — "Neither 
do I condemn thee ; go, and sin no more " (Jno. 
8: 11). 



The anointing Oil 397 

This reed was crushed by the " company of 
spearmen" (marg., " beasts of the reeds " — Ps. 
68 : 30). Wicked men took Him, bound and 
bruised Him. But what fragrance has filled 
heaven and earth through that bruising. Again, 
the aromatic odor of the calumus reminds us 
that in our Lord there was nothing negative or 
insipid. That weak word "amiable" is unsuit- 
able in connection with Him. Thus when the 
high priest commanded that He be smitten, our 
Lord neither resents it nor cowers under it; but 
with what holy dignity did He rebuke that un- 
righteousness, and bear witness of His kingship 
before Pilate. A heavenly fragrance pervaded 
the judgment hall — the vital fragrance and en- 
ergy of Holiness, bearing witness to the truth 
(Jno. 18: 33-37). 

4. Cassia. — This word is mentioned in but one 
other passage, and there also in association with 
calamus (Ezek. 27: 19), as some of the articles 
in which Tyre trafficked. For the world would 
make merchandise of the excellencies of Christ, 
and Satan, its prince, seek to rob the Lord of 
that which is His alone. Another word is also 
translated "cassia" in psalm 45 : 8, where the 
garments of our Lord are perfumed with myrrh 
and cassia and aloes. That word is derived from 
a root to "scrape," and suggests the way the 
bark of the cassia is removed. The ingredient 
we are now considering is thought to be derived 



398 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

from a root meaning to " split," and refers to the 
rolls of bark being split.* It is said to resemble 
cinnamon, and to be of the same family, but to 
be less fragrant. The Septuagint translates the 
word here "iris," which is a species of flag 
(possibly the same as orris root). 

It is said to be more pungent than cinnamon, 
and to grow in places not suited for other vege- 
tation. It was used for flavoring and as a medi- 
cine. From a kindred variety, we are told the 
senna, a well-known drug, is obtained. 

We have certain spiritual characteristics indi- 
cated here, though not so clearly suggestive of 
perfections in our Lord. As it was a species of 
cinnamon, it would therefore have a similar 
significance — the ardor of the love of Christ to 
God, which led Him on even to death; a love 
which reaches out also to sinful men in blessing 
and healing. The cassia was less fragrant but 
more pungent, and this recalls somewhat the 
nature of the galbanum. It might represent that 
devotedness of zeal to God in which the ardor of 
love takes the form of uncompromising rebuke 



* Another possible derivation is from a root meaning to bow 
down or worship, and this would be more appropriate to the 
spiritual meaning than the one given by most authorities. Our 
Lord surely was ever and only a worshiper of God ; before Him 
alone He bowed, and refu-ed any other as manifestly of Satan, 
though the inducements were all the kingdoms of the world 
and the glory of them (Matt. 4 : 8-10). 



The anointing Oil 399 

of evil and half-heartedness. The scathing re- 
bukes of formalism, the piercing probe of divine 
truth, by which He exposed all the falsehood of 
a mere outward religion, that left the soul unre- 
generate — these and such-like characteristics we 
may connect with the cassia, a bitter and hum- 
bling medicine, but one which purges that it may 
heal all that receive it. 

Nor does this introduce a foreign element in 
what marks the full fragrance of our Lord to His 
Father. The sentimentalism of the flesh will 
wince under such searchings of heart, but loyalty 
to God admits of nothing divided with Him. 
As the cassia flourished where other plants would 
not grow, so it is at Calvary where the perfection 
of His faithfulness is fully seen. In that place of 
death, as a sacrifice for sin, such a fragrance 
was yielded that all else is as nothing compared 
with it. 

We have next to consider the proportions in 
which these four ingredients were blended. But 
before that, we are reminded that the "vehicle" 
of their exhibition was the olive oil, of which we 
have already spoken (p. 322, and following). We 
have seen that it was a type of the Holy Spirit, 
by whom our Lord was anointed, in whose power 
He wrought miracles and gave His testimony 
for God. We are thus reminded that all true 
exhibition of the graces and excellences of 
Christ must be in and by the Holy Spirit. Any 



400 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

handling of these holy themes apart from the 
Spirit would be a mere mental exercise which 
would be barren or worse, and dry as the hand- 
ling of the spices apart from the oil. To be an 
ointment, they must be formed by the Spirit into 
a holy compound, " after the art of the Apothe- 
cary." And this would mean not merely that the 
Spirit guides as to the truth, but ministers it in 
communion to the soul. 

But we must go back of this to find the fuller 
significance of the oil. These ingredients speak 
of the various characteristics which marked our 
Lord. There was nothing in Him that was not 
in fullest accord with the Holy Spirit. Indeed 
it was not only that He was anointed by the 
Spirit, but that His human nature was of the 
Spirit: "The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, 
and the power of the Highest shall overshadow 
thee " (Luke 1 : 35). We have this, in type, in 
the cakes of fine flour which were mingled, as 
well as anointed, with oil. Holy mystery indeed 
is this, calling for our worship, as we think of the 
Holy One whose very presence as Man was by 
and in the power of the Holy Spirit. And the 
general teaching of Scripture connects thus the 
Holy Spirit with the person of the Lord. The 
Spirit ever presents Christ to us; He takes of the 
things of Christ to show them unto us. If He 
gives peace to the anxious sinner, it is not by 
occupying the sinner with what He, the Spirit, 



The anointing Oil 401 

is doing in his heart, but by presenting Christ 
and His work for him. Likewise holiness is pro- 
duced in the saint, not by self-culture, but by 
beholding the glory of the Lord, and being 
changed into the same image (2 Cor. 3: 18). 

And so when our Lord was baptized of John 
in Jordan and the Holy Spirit descended upon 
Him in bodily shape like a dove, the form He 
took suggests, may we not say, the character and 
office of our Lord Jesus. The dove is the bird of 
heaven; so He "came down from heaven " (J no. 
6 : 38). The dove is the bird that loves and 
mourns; so He came in love and was the " Man 
of sorrows." The dove is the bird of gentleness; 
and He was meek and lowly in heart. It was 
distinctively a "clean" bird; which fitted it to 
be used in sacrifice; so was our Lord without 
spot, and offered Himself thus to God (Heb. 9: 
14) "through the eternal Spirit." Thus the dove 
is suggestive both of the Lord and of the Holy 
Spirit, who came in that form. 

The oil, then, was a fitting vehicle for these 
sweet "principal spices." One "hin" of this 
was to be taken. This unit of measure is of un- 
certain derivation, possibly from a word meaning 
to be wealthy, full, sufficient. This would sug- 
gest a. full measure. " God giveth not His Spirit 
by measure," that is, in a limited measure (Jno. 
3 134). So we read, "Jesus being full of the 
Holy Ghost returned from Jordan" (Luke 4: 1). 



402 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

The u hin " was the measure used in connection 
with the drink offerings and the oil for the meat- 
offering (Ex. 29: 40). (See also the special provi- 
sion for the graded offerings, suggesting various 
aspects of our Lord's sacrifice, and perhaps also 
different degrees of apprehension on the part of 
the worshiper, Num. 15: 4-10.) As the cubit was 
for linear, the ephah for dry measure, and the 
shekel for weight, the kin seems to have been the 
ordinary unit for liquid measure. Thus "the 
measure of a man," that which can be appre- 
hended by man, is suggested as being brought 
by the Spirit to his comprehension, of that which 
"passeth knowledge/' "the unsearchable riches 
of Christ" (Eph. 3:8, 19). 

The spices were apportioned by weight, the 
unit of which was "the shekel of the sanctuary." 
The word is from the root meaning to weigh, 
originally, perhaps, to poise. It is that which 
forms a true estimate of the value of things. The 
shekel of the sanctuary, or sacred shekel, may 
have been of greater weight than the usual one, 
and the king's shekel (2 Sam. 14: 26) may have 
been the same. One thing we know, the shekel 
of the King of kings would be just and unvary- 
ing, for "divers weights and divers measures, 
both of them are alike abomination to the 
Lord" (Prov. 20 : 10). This shekel was divided 
into twenty gerahs, and a half shekel or ten 
gerahs was the ransom money for all the men of 



The anointing Oil 403 

Israel (Ex. 30: 12, etc.) At the significance of 
this we have already looked. 

God is a God of knowledge, and by Him actions 
are weighed (1 Sam. 2: 3). The proud king of 
Babylon was weighed and found wanting (Dan. 
5: 27). And " all have sinned and come short of 
the glory of God." The Old Testament word for 
"glory" is "weight," derived from a word "to 
be heavy." So by God's standard, all have come 
short of the full weight which alone can glorify 
Him. There is therefore but One in whom, when 
tested, full and true weight was found, who 
could say, "I have glorified Thee upon the 
earth; I have finished the work which Thou 
gavest Me to do" (Jno. 17: 4). And not only was 
the full weight of that which glorified God found 
in Him, but all was in true and proper propor- 
tion. 

Here, as we have already had occasion to no- 
tice with other measures in the tabernacle, the 
number five enters prominently. It is the num- 
ber which speaks of full capacity and responsi- 
bility, and has been realized in Him alone who 
was God and Man — one being the number of 
deity and four that of creation — 4 + 1. 

Of myrrh there were 500 shekels, and of cassia 
the same amount. The sweet cinnamon and 
sweet calamus were half as much, 250 shekels. 
Myrrh, as we have seen, tells us of the fragrance 
of our Lord's devotion and love to God, even 



404 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

unto death. The factors of this would be 5 x 5 
x 5 x 2 x 2, or responsibility in love met in a 
divinely perfect way, even unto death. None 
but God could weigh that love, that sorrow, and 
He has put the estimate of divine truth upon it. 

The cassia, mentioned last, was of like weight. 
That pungent, heart-searching detection and re- 
fusal of evil, was as absolute as the devotion of 
love unto death; it was present in equal measure 
with the sweet myrrh, and blended with it per- 
fectly. 

The sweet cinnamon, telling of the ardent zeal 
which consumed Him, was in the proper propor- 
tion, one half as much as the other two. The 
factors, however, speak rather of a testimony 
(2) to the meeting of responsibility. His " zeal " 
never carried Him beyond the will of God, or out 
of the current of God's ways. He never called 
fire from heaven to consume those who would 
not receive Him. 

The sweet calamus was in the same proportion, 
fitly joining the aromatic fragrance with the 
warmth of the cinnamon. Personal, absolute 
righteousness, growing in the mire of the earth, 
He shed nothing but fragrance around — a fra- 
grance which, blending with all His moral char- 
acteristics, made the Beloved One a "precious 
ointment " — His Father's complete delight. 

And so all was perfectly and harmoniously 
blended in Him; resulting in that which was ab- 



The anointing Oil 405 

solutely unique, where each trait was so perme- 
ated by the others that the fragrance of each 
was found in all. Nor was it that He acted ac- 
cording to one character at one time and another 
at another. His love was as ardent in rebuking 
sin as His uprightness was absolute in soothing 
the broken-hearted. He did not put on or lay 
off these characters. At the Pharisee's table the 
sweet fragrance of His ways and words had all 
the features of tenderness, faithfulness, holiness, 
hatred of sin, in the rebuke of the self-righteous 
man and speaking the word of peace to the woman 
who was a sinner (Luke 7). Alas, the heart of 
man will not receive this, and for that reason 
must meet His judgment; but faith delights, and 
above all, God delights, to recognize these odors 
— each in all and all in each.* 

This ointment was to be put upon the taber- 

*The question might be raised by some, how could this 
be an anointing oi7, if only one hin of olive oil (perhaps 6 
quarts) was used, with possibly 48 lbs of solid material. This 
would be a difficulty if these spices were solid] but the myrrh is 
called "free," which suggests that it was liquid, and the word 
before the cinnamon and cane translated "sweet," is really 
14 balsam," which may suggest that these spices were also pre- 
pared in liquid form. Indeed the compounding was to be done 
by the "apothecary," and this would suggest that all might 
have been previously prepared in extract form, before being 
blended together in the oil We may be sure that all was pro- 
vided for with divine wisdom^ and therefore that all was beau- 
tifully significant of that which God would present in these 
materials, and in the ointment. 



406 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

nacle and upon each article to sanctify them unto 
God, and upon Aaron and his sons. It was not 
to be put on man's flesh, and no imitation of it was 
to be made. Here again the sweet savor of 
Christ was to be put upon all that spoke of Him, 
His Son, in whom God ever finds " unchanging 
fresh delight." The materials spoke of Him; 
even their structure spoke of Him; the golden 
lamps illumined Him; and now the anointing 
oil again points to Him. The high priest too 
was a type of our High Priest, and the sons 
of Aaron typified the true people of God, on 
whom the holy anointing oil was sprinkled — 
Christ's fragrance is upon them. 

The natural man has no place here : it were 
blasphemy to link the sweet savor of Christ 
with the unregenerate ; they are enemies, whom 
God must cast out from His presence. Mere 
imitations of the excellence of our Lord, as heart- 
less profession, will meet with His scathing re- 
buke (Amos 6:6). And does it not apply to the 
" flesh" in the saint? Wherever strife, pride, 
vainglory are allowed, they are but dead flies in 
the apothecary's ointment (Eccl. 10 : i), which 
mar all its fragrance. How God's great lesson is 
impressed throughout His entire word, "The flesh 
profiteth nothing;" ' ' Christ is all. " His fragrance 
will pervade all heaven, and "all the mind in 
heaven is one." Let His name be in the hearts 
of His blood-bought people here "as ointment 



The anointing Oil 407 

poured forth" (Song i : 3). This is the "oint- 
ment and perfume " which "rejoice the heart" 
(Prov. 27: 9). Our Priest and King has passed 
into the sanctuary, into those ivory palaces where 
joy and gladness abound: "All thy garments 
smell of myrrh and aloes and cassia;" they are 
His by right of all that He has done. "Thou 
lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness : 
therefore God, Thy God, hath anointed Thee 
with the oil of gladness above Thy fellows" 

(Ps. 45:7, 8). 

And in infinite grace and righteousness this 
fragrant ointment has reached down to the skirts 
of the High Priest's robe, yea, has come upon all 
His own, so that wherever brethren "dwell to- 
gether in unity," in the unity of the Spirit, Christ 
is all, and the sweet savor of His ointment fills 
the sanctuary of His presence where they are 
gathered (Ps. 133). 



LECTURE XVII 

The Altar of Burnt - offering 
(Ex. 38: 1-7.) .- 

WE have now completed our survey of the 
tabernacle itself and its furniture, both of 
the most holy and the holy places. We pass 
next to the court which was about it, and follow- 
ing the order of actual construction, we come 
first to the altar of burnt-offering. This was in- 
deed the most prominent article in the court, 
meeting the one who would draw near to God 
immediately upon entering the court. We shall 
find its importance equal to the prominence of 
its position. 

We have already become familiar with the 
materials of which this altar was made — the 
acacia wood, and the copper with which it was 
overlaid. Copper was the characteristic metal 
outside the tabernacle, as gold was within. The 
dimensions of this altar were five cubits square 
and three cubits high. Its proportions thus diff- 
ered from those of the altar of incense, which 
was twice as high as it was wide. On the four 
corners of this altar were the horns, "of the 
same," that is, an integral part of the altar. All 
its vessels were of copper: pots for the ashes 
— literally, "the fat " [ashes] — shovels for remov- 



The Altar of Burnt-offering 409 

ing ashes or fire; bowls for catching the blood to 
be sprinkled ; flesh hooks or forks for handling 
the meat ; and fire-pans for holding the fire. 
There was also a grate of network "unto the 
midst of the altar," and upon this were four 
rings for the staves by which it was to be borne; 
these staves were of acacia wood overlaid with 
copper. The whole altar was made "hollow" 
with boards, and the direction had been given to 
make it as it had been shown to Moses in the 
mount. 

Much of this description needs but little com- 
ment in the way of elucidation, but there is some 
question regarding the "grate of network," its 
form, place and use. The translation is generally 
accepted as correct, though the word for "grate" 
occurs only in this connection. It is derived from 
a word meaning to "plait," and from the same 
root we have the word "sieve " in Amos 9 : 9. 
The "network" which describes it is manifest. 
This grating was under the "compass" of the 
altar. Here, too, we have a word nowhere else 
used, and whose derivation is not absolutely 
clear. It is said to be derived from a word mean- 
ing to "surround:" hence " border " or "com- 
pass" would be the proper rendering. 

Regarding this "border" there have been 
various thoughts ; some have regarded it as a 
shelf or ledge, placed at right angles to the altar, 
midway between top and bottom. Its purpose 



410 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

was then said to be for the priest to stand upon 
while offering sacrifice. Some consider that the 
" grating of network" hung tinder this ledge, 
reaching to the ground, and making a sort of en- 
larged base or ornament to the altar, but do not 
explain in a satisfactory way the rings which 
were attached to the four corners of the grate. 
There would have to be four of these grates, 
and this carries us beyond the directions of 
Scripture. 

Others again would have the grate as a sort of 
rim reaching out horizontally from the altar to 
catch the fire that might fall off the altar. Still 
others have considered the "compass" to be in- 
side the top of the altar, filling up part of the 
space, and under it the grate filling up the hol- 
low square which remained much as a picture, 
surrounded by a frame, the compass. But this, 
while giving use for the grate and for the rings, 
gives a somewhat forced meaning to "the midst 
of the altar," as though it meant half the area of 
the open top, the other half being filled by the 
"border." 

Another possible thought is that the grating 
of network was a large square, like a square 
net set under the altar, and so much larger that 
when the staves were put in the rings, and the 
altar thus lifted, the network reached to the 
midst, or half-way up the sides. The objection 
to this view is that it seems a cumbersome and 



The Altar of Burnt-offering 411 

needless way of carrying the altar, giving no 
definite use to the net except the unusual one of 
being a sort of sack to carry the altar. 

We return then to the primary and natural 
thought of the " grate." It was for fire; there- 
fore it must have been within the compass of 
the altar, not outside of it. But here we have 
a suggestion as to the "compass/' that it was 
not something made, but simply the rim. The 
grating was under this, that is, not level with 
the rim, but below it; in fact, midway between 
the top and bottom of the altar. The only diffi- 
culty of a mechanical character would be the 
rings. If the grate was inside the altar and half- 
way down, how could they receive the staves by 
which the altar was carried ? It is confessed that 
here is a question, and we can only suggest that 
these rings might have been passed through holes 
in the corners of the altar, and thus reached the 
outside, where they would serve for their in- 
tended purpose. This would give security to the 
altar as it was being carried. 

These suggestions will be seen also to be in 
accord with the spiritual significance of the altar, 
which we will now seek to examine. 

The acacia wood, of which it was made, need 
occupy us but briefly, as we have already learned 
its meaning. It speaks of the incorruptible, sin- 
less humanity of our Lord, and therefore not 
subject to death. How fitting, then, that it 



412 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

should be connected with what is the constant 
witness of death — the altar. Our Lord need not 
die, therefore He could lay down His life; on 
all others judgment had a claim; none, there- 
fore, could make atonement even for them- 
selves, much less for others. We see then our 
Lord as "the Altar that sanctifieth the gift" 
(Matt. 23: 19). 

But how necessary was this humanity if there 
was to be an atonement. The very word for altar 
is connected with " slaughter" — the shedding of 
blood. Therefore one who was to be the true 
altar, must be capable of dying, and at the same 
time One upon whom death had no claim. This 
was our Lord's perfect, sinless humanity, as we 
have repeatedly seen in connection with the 
acacia wood. Here the emphasis is specially 
laid upon His sacrificial death, and we need not 
say how clearly this is connected with His hu- 
manity. If " the wages of sin " — death, with the 
accompanying judgment coming after it, were 
ever to be lifted from man, it must be on the 
righteous basis which God has made and ac- 
cepted. A sacrifice must be made of infinite 
value and of spotless purity. This is the need for 
the incarnation: "The Word was made flesh" 
(Jno. 1: 14). 

Scripture again and again witnesses to this 
blessed foundation truth: from Genesis to Rev- 
elation — in type, history, psalm and prophecy, as 



The Altar of Burnt-offering 413 

well as from the Gospel narratives, the preaching 
of Christ's witnesses and the unfolding of the 
doctrine in the Epistles. We will refer to a few 
passages, and leave the reader to pursue this 
blessed theme for himself. 

This great truth of incarnation for sacrifice 
and redemption is seen in the promise of the wo- 
man's Seed (Gen. 3: 15), who was to be bruised 
in bruising Satan. All the sacrifices set this 
forth too; never did blood flow from a sacrificial 
animal that was not divinely intended to show 
the atoning death of the Lamb of God, who was 
"foreordained before the foundation of the 
world, but was manifest (in flesh and blood) in 
these last times for you " (1 Pet. 1: 20). Thus 
the lamb for the Passover was not taken at ran- 
dom, but selected on the tenth day and kept up 
until the fourteenth day (Ex. 12: 3, 6), to show 
how, Christ personally, as Man, met the full re- 
sponsibility and requirement before the eye of 
God before He was manifested in His public 
ministry. 

In typical history we have again and again 
these types of our Lord and His redeeming 
work : Joseph in his blameless life, and the 
special object of his father's love ; Isaac, the son 
of promise, in figure offered up in sacrifice. The 
whole narrative of Israel's redemption abounds 
with these types. These very things we are 
now considering have this as the basis of their 



414 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

significance. In Israel's subsequent history, 
leaders, judges and kings, spoke of God's thought 
of a deliverer, often by prior rejection, as in Moses 
and David. The Psalms echo with the praises of 
Him who was the Leader and Perfecter of faith 
(Ps. 1 6), but who went down into the horrible 
pit to do God's will by the offering of His body 
unto death (Ps. 40). Indeed we might get from 
these psalms a full conception of our Lord's per- 
fect humanity and of His sacrificial death. 

The light of this great truth is intensified in 
the Prophets, where we have the promise of the 
Son of the Virgin, of God's Servant (Isa. 7: 14; 
42: 1), and the cross most clearly foretold (chap. 
53). Jeremiah speaks of the righteous Branch 
of the house of David (chap. 23: 5, 6), and Zecha- 
riah of the smiting of the Shepherd (chap. 13: 7). 
But besides the direct prophecies and allusions to 
this great truth, we find it beneath the surface 
like the veins of gold in the earth. 

The New Testament, of course, is full of this. 
Its great theme is Christ incarnate and crucified. 
Take this divine fact from the word of God and 
we should have nothing left. It is in the very 
warp and woof of the Scriptures. If this great 
truth could be eliminated from it, the Bible is 
destroyed. 

But the witness of Scripture as to the deity of 
our Lord is as full and explicit as to His human 
nature, typified in the acacia wood. We have 



The Altar of Burnt-offering 415 

already seen how His deity was typified in the 
gold, and doubtless the same truth is set forth in 
the brass or copper, at which we will now look, 
and the special reason for the change of metal. 

We have already seen that silver, of which the 
sockets were made, sets forth redemption, the 
price paid by each one as a ransom for his soul 
(Ex. 30: 11-16). While thus this precious metal 
emphasizes the work of our Lord Jesus, yet we 
are reminded that His work had its value be- 
cause of what He was; so no doubt the silver too, 
as a precious metal, suggested His deity. The 
gold pre-eminently did that, in connection with 
His glory — fittingly, as the most precious metal, 
setting forth the eternal form of its display. 
Similarly the silver by its whiteness would re- 
mind us of His divine holiness, which is fittingly 
connected with that work which " washes whiter 
than snow." But the silver more prominently 
called attention to His work than to His deity, 
and we may expect this to be the case with the 
metal to which we have now come. 

The word translated "brass" in our version, 
with but few exceptions, seems rather to be cop- 
per. Brass, as we know it, is a compound of 
copper with other metals, but this is probably 
not the case with the metal as spoken of in Scrip- 
ture. 

Copper is spoken of very early in the Scrip- 
tures (Gen. 4: 22), where Tubal-cain is described 



416 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

as an instructor to those who worked in brass 
(copper, as We shall hereafter call it). Suggest- 
ively, gold is mentioned first and before the fall: 
"The gold of that land is good" (Gen. 2: 11, 12). 
God's glory is first. It may be suggestive also 
that copper is mentioned in connection with the 
family of Cain. It is quite striking that copper 
seems to have been the earlier and more widely 
used metal, as compared with iron. The "Bronze 
Age " preceded, we are told, that of Iron. At 
any rate, implements were made of copper, and 
by being subjected to hardening preserved their 
edge, or elasticity, almost as well as iron or steel. 

In this connection we may briefly speak of the 
characteristics of copper, and later on we shall 
find how suitably they set forth the spiritual 
truths appropriate to its use in the altar and 
laver. Copper is found in many parts of the 
world; perhaps it is more widely spread than any 
other metal; it is frequently found united with 
gold and silver, as well as many other substances, 
one of the chief of which is sulphur or brimstone. 
To secure the metal pure from all these foreign 
elements requires a number of processes in 
which the action of fire is prominent. Finally 
the pure metal is secured. Copper is also found 
in large quantities in a pure state. 

This metal is of a reddish color, very ductile 
and malleable ; particularly suited, therefore, to 
beating out into pots and other vessels, or into 



The Altar of Burnt-offering 417 

sheets, to overlay various articles, as the altar. 
It is susceptible of a high polish. Perhaps its 
chief characteristic is its toughness or tenacity, 
in which it exceeds both gold and silver. 

Our word "copper" is derived from the Island 
of Cyprus, where the main supply was obtained 
for the Romans. But the word in the Hebrew, 
" nehosheth" is of uncertain origin. A conjecture 
has been made that it is derived from a word 
meaning to be bright, allied possibly with a root 
meaning "to adorn" — all too uncertain, how- 
ever, for more than mention here. A much 
closer resemblance, indeed identity of root, is in 
the word for " serpent." This can be seen in the 
"brazen serpent" — nehash nehosheth (Num. 21: 
9). It would almost seem that Hezekiah, when 
he gave the name " Nehushtan " to the brazen 
serpent ("a piece of brass ") was combining the 
double significance of the words. 

The word for "serpent" is given as derived 
from a word meaning to "hiss," then to "di- 
vine." A connection between this word "ser- 
pent" and that for "copper "may possibly be 
found more satisfactory than the conjecture 
mentioned above. But we find in Scripture a 
wealth of use of copper which will supply us 
with clear suggestions as to its spiritual sig- 
nificance. At these we will now look, dividing 
them into that which speaks of good, and that 
which sets forth evil characteristics. 



418 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

" Out of whose hills thou mayest dig copper'* 
(Deut. 8:9). That goodly inheritance was to 
yield not only food, but metals needed for many 
utensils. It has been thought that thence is an 
allusion to the mines of copper and iron in the 
blessing of Asher: " Thy shoes shall be iron and 
copper" — as though beneath their feet, in Ash- 
er's territory; but a more simple meaning seems 
to be suggested by the remainder of the verse, 
"As thy days so shall thy strength be." Al- 
though the word here rendered "strength" 
means "rest," the evident thought is endurng 
security and protection. (See also Mic. 4: 13.). 

Samson was bound with "fetters of brass," 
("copper" — Judg. 16:21; 2KingS25:7). Copper 
seems to have been the recognized material for 
bonds. In his lament over Abner, David says: 
"Thy hands were not bound, nor thy feet put 
into fetters" (literally, "in copper," 2 Sam. 3 : 
34; see also Lam. 3 : 7). The cities of Bashan 
were well protected "with walls and copper 
bars" (1 Kings 4: 13). The prison-house of 
the Lord's people is strong, but "He hath 
broken the gates of copper" (Ps. 107 : 16; see 
also Isa. 45: 2). Of behemoth it is said: "His 
bones are as strong as pieces of copper" (Job 40: 
18). David says, "He teacheth my hands to 
war, so that a bow of steel (literally, "copper," 
is broken by mine arms " (2 Sam. 22: 35). Goli- 
ath's helmet and armor were of the same material 



The Altar of Burnt-offering 4\$ 

(i Sam. 17 : 5, 6). Saul also armed David with 
a helmet of copper and a coat of mail to meet 
Goliath, but they were discarded by the man of 
faith (1 Sam. 17 : 38). 

Copper is spoken of as a symbol of complete 
defence. Thus God promises Jeremiah: " I have 
made thee this day a defenced city, and an iron 
pillar and brazen walls against the whole land " 
(Jer. 1: 18; 15 : 20). The unyielding character 
of this metal is also suggestive of judgment: 
"I will make your heaven as iron, and your 
earth as copper" (Lev. 26 : 19). This order is 
reversed in Deut. 28: 23. 

These scriptures and others which could be 
cited make clear the symbolic meaning of the 
copper — durability, strength, unyieldingness, 
whether in protection, bondage, or warfare. 
Applied to the nature of God, it would declare 
His unchanging character, His strength, and the 
impossibility of escape from His judgment; 
on the other hand, the security of those beneath 
His protection. 

These very traits, when applied to sinful men, 
speak of stubbornness and hardness of heart: 
" I knew that thou art obstinate, and thy neck is 
an iron sinew and thy brow copper " (Isa. 48: 4). 
" Brazen effrontery" is a mark of Satan, and 
this may give a hint of the connection, as already 
noticed, between the " serpent" and copper. 

Speaking of the " serpent of copper," we may 



420 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

enquire, Why should that metal have been cho- 
sen ? We have already had the suggestion of 
judicial dealing in the brazen fetters and prison 
bars. May this not be the thought in the ser- 
pent? God's judgment, unchanging and strong, 
must be visited upon sin. So on the cross, God's 
judgment of sin, in the likeness of the serpent, 
is of copper. God's immutable nature, by its 
very perfection, must judge sin absolutely. "The 
Son of Man must be lifted up" (Jno. 3: 14). Our 
Lord was " made sin" for us (2 Cor. 5: 21), bear- 
ing God's unchanging judgment against sin, to 
bring life and healing, instead of judgment, to 
those who flee to Him for shelter. 

This brings us back to the altar of burnt- 
offering, which was covered with copper, and 
is in perfect accord with the whole truth set 
forth in the altar: God's unchanging judgment of 
sin, which must visit wrath upon the ungodly; 
but in the cross of Christ it finds expression not 
in the punishment of the sinner, but in the out- 
pouring of judgment upon the sinless Substitute. 
As we look upon the altar glowing with its "red 
and lowering " copper, we are thus reminded 
that righteousness and judgment are the founda- 
tion of God's throne. He must judge sin: He 
would not be the God that He is if this were not 
the case. Therefore any presentation of God 
which leaves out this unchanging character of 
judgment, presents a false, not the true God. 



The Altar of Burnt-offering 421 

But in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, this 
unyielding character is seen in association with 
an equally perfect love and pity for the sinner. 
There is justice, so stern and inflexible that the 
sword falls upon the sinless One, who takes His 
stand in the place of judgment ; and there is 
love so full, so strong, so free, that God's eternal 
and unchanging nature goes out in tenderest 
care — forgiving, justifying, saving the lost sin- 
ner coming in Christ's name. Christ went into 
the prison and was bound in our place : the bars 
of copper are no longer between the soul and 
liberty. Those heavens, which were once as 
copper to Him as He cried, "O My God, I cry 
in the daytime, but Thou hearest not, and in 
the night season, and am not silent " (Ps. 22: 2), 
now drop down refreshing showers, and are 
opened wide for faith to behold the Son of Man 
upon the throne, for He has magnified God's 
character in our salvation.* 

*As setting forth the divine attributes, copper speaks of 
our Lord's deity, as well as of His atoning work, just as 
the aeacia wood represents His humanity, in the same con- 
nection. We will give therefore a few scriptures which refer 
to this fact in relation to His sacrificial work. Naturally 
we would expect to find greater prominence given to His 
humanity in this connection, for it was as Man that He laid 
down His life. But here, as everywhere, while we can distin- 
guish we must not separate between the two natures of our 
Lord. The whole texture of Scripture illustrates this most 
important truth. 

The language of God to Abraham, " Take now thy son, thine 



422 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

The materials of the altar then bear their wit- 
ness to the great fact of atonement; let tis gather 
similar lessons from its dimensions. These were 
five cubits square and three cubits high. The 
cubit was, as we have already seen, the Hebrew 
unit of linear measure, as the hin was for liquids, 
and the shekel for weight. It would suggest 

only son " (Gen. 22 : 2), tells of a love and a sacrifice infinitely 
greater than Abraham's, and infinitely more efficacious — of 
God's only begotten Son. Joseph is sent from Hebron, the 
place of communion, by his father to his brethren ; he is taken 
by them and cast into the pit, and sold (Gen. 37 : 14, etc.). 
Here we have the foreshadowing of One who came from the 
Father's bosom, and was rejected even unto death. In the sacri- 
fices there is a suggestion, in the bird of heaven (Lev. 1), of 
Him who came down from heaven to be slain in the vessel of 
earth (Lev. 14 : 5, 6). The Psalms bear unequivocal testimony, 
particularly the 102d, which we have already quoted; the lowly 
Sufferer is there addressed as God, the One who eternally 
abides (vers. 25-27). " I clothe the heavens with blackness " 
is said by the same One who also declares, " I gave my back to 
the smiters" Isa. 50: 3, 6). "Awake, O sword, against my 
Shepherd, and against the Man that is my Fellow, saith the 
Lord of Hosts » (Zech. 13 : 7). 

The New Testament adds abundant testimony of the same 
kind: " Therefore doth my Father love Me, because I lay down 
my life that I might take it again. No man taketh it from Me, 
but I lay it down of Myself " ( Jno. 10 : 17, 18). The relation 
of Son with the Father was not only as Man, but as divine : 
" Who being the brightness of His glory and the express image 
of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His 
power, when He had by Himself purged our sins " (Heb. 1:3). 
"Who is the image of the invisible God" (Col. 1: 15) ; this 
verse is just preceded by one which speaks of His atoning 
death: "In whom we have redemption through His blood, 
even the forgiveness of sins" (ver. 14). 



The Altar of Burnt-offering 423 

human capacity, much as the five fingers of the 
hand, and therefore responsibility. We have in 
the length and breadth (five cubits), a double 
witness of responsibility. The cross of Christ is 
the declaration of this responsibility, of our hav- 
ing utterly failed in it, and of Christ's having 
met the judgment for that failure.* The altar 
was foursquare, reminding us of the absolute 
righteousness of God, the equality of all His 
ways. How perfectly that was displayed in the 
cross! There was no abatement of penalty be- 
cause of the dignity of the wondrous Substitute 
— all was foursquare; " There is no respect of 
persons with God" (Rom. 2: 11). 

But from each corner of this foursquare altar 
rose a horn, an integral part of the altar, while 
also distinct. One beautiful and obvious meaning 
of these horns is connected with the verse just 
quoted: inflexible, even-handed justice marked 

* " The soul that sinneth, it shall die » (Ezek. 18 : 4). " In 
the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die " (Gen. 
2 : 17). "It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this 
the judgment" (Heb. 9:27). "And I saw a great white 
throne . . . and I saw the dead, small and great, stand before 
God . . . And the dead were judged out of those things which 
were written in the books . . . And whosoever was not found 
written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire " (Rev. 
20: 11-15). This is the awful penalty for sin — bodily death, 
then final separation from God, morally and spiritually, after 
death, and the lake of fire to all eternity. These are the in- 
flexible demands of God's righteousness. 



424 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

all God's ways, and nowhere more perfectly than 
here. None could hope for any mitigation of 
justice in his case. Nothing but even-handed 
justice would be meted out here. The rich man 
would find his wealth worthless here, and the 
poor man could excite no false pity by his pov- 
erty; wise and unwise, old and young, bond and 
free — all here met even-handed justice. 

These horns, however, pointed toward the four 
quarters of the world. Their message was world- 
wide; and if they declared "all the world guilty 
before God" (Rom. 3: 19), they equally pro- 
claimed the gospel message of sins borne by the 
Substitute, for " whosoever" in the whole world. 
The guilt is world-wide, the remedy is world- 
wide too. All classes, all sorts of men meet here 
upon one common ground of being "sinners," 
and claim a common salvation. 

Horns in Scripture symbolize strength: "My 
horn shaltThou exalt like the horn of a unicorn" 
(Ps. 92: 10). They were the badge or symbol of 
power: " My horn is exalted in the Lord " (1 Sam. 
2: 1). It was also a symbol of Messiah's king- 
dom: " I will make the horn of David to bud" 
(Ps. 132: 17). The horns of the altar suggest that 
here were focused and intensified the thoughts 
set forth in the altar; here they were brought to 
a point. This would explain why the blood of 
the sin-offering for one of the common people 
was put upon these horns (Lev. 4: 30). It also 



The Altar of Burnt-offering 425 

gives significance to the guilty one coming here 
for refuge and laying hold upon them. Adonijah 
sought safety there and found it (i Kings i : 50). 
Joab at the same asylum met with the just re- 
compense of his sins (1 Kings 2: 28-34), for "if 
a man come presumptuously upon his neighbor 
to slay him with guile ; thou shalt take him from 
Mine altar that he may die" (Ex. 21: 14).* It 
would almost seem that the following language 
suggested this taking hold of the horns of the 
altar: " Let him take hold of My strength, that 
he may make peace with Me, and he shall make 
peace with Me " (Isa. 27: 5). See also Isa. 25: 4. 
But the very place where divine mercy was, 
displayed for those who in repentance sought the 
Lord, was the witness of their abiding sin in the 
departure from Him: Judah's sin was written 
upon the horns of their altars to false gods (Jer. 
17: 1). They might put the blood of sacrifice to 
idols upon the horns of their altars ; they would 
but witness against them, and would themselves 
be cut off, as showing there was no strength for 
mercy in the idol, or his altar (Amos 3: 14). f 

*As has been pointed ont ( J. B. J. ), Solomon's reign was that 
of displayed glory and power, answering to the future reign of 
our Lord in millennial glory; while that of David is His reign 
in grace, at present. Joab should have sought mercy from 
David, before the kingdom of Solomon. As a matter of fact, he 
was opposed to Solomon. 

t There are other suggestive thoughts connected with the 
word "horns." " He had horns coming out of His hand" 



426 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

The altar was three cubits high, which would 
again remind us of the manifestation suggested 
by that number. The Cross exhibits God's char- 
acter. In it we see His righteousness, His holi- 
ness and His love ; His wisdom too and all His 
attributes find their display here in one form or 
another. His power is shown in the resurrection 
of our Lord, of which the three also speaks. How 
blessed that in what speaks of death, of sacrifice, 
there should be also in the height of the altar 
the pledge of resurrection. So, in speaking of 
His death, our Lord did not stop there, but fore- 
told also His resurrection (Matt. 16: 21). 

We come next to the brazen or copper grate, 
with its four rings and its position beneath the 
compass, or rim, of the altar, and reaching unto 
the midst. We have seen this to mean that the 
grate was probably set down below the rim, in 
the very centre of the altar. Its purpose would 
be to bear the sacrifice and the fire which con- 
sumed it. If we are right in this thought, we 
have here a type of the nature of our Lord's 
sufferings, which should magnify His grace, and 
fill the heart with praise. 

(Habak. 3 : 4) — beams of light, suggesting not only power, but 
the light of God's manifested glory. Moses " wist not that the 
skin of his face shone " (Ex. 34: 29). The word for "shone " is 
this same root from which "horn " comes. Thus we may think 
of the horns of the altar as setting forth, " God is light," while 
in their world-wide offer of mercy through the blood, "God 
is love/ 5 and His eternal power linked with these divine facts. 



The Altar of Burnt-offering 427 

Fire is the constant emblem of wrath and 
judgment, not of an arbitrary character, but that 
which is necessary and essential. All life is based 
upon heat, and all heat is in its last analysis a 
form of fire. "Our God is a consuming fire" 
(Heb. 12: 29). Fire speaks of intense energy, 
of which God is the only source. As fire, it must 
burn up all that does not abide its test. Thus 
God must consume in judgment all that is op- 
posed to His righteous and perfect will. Of this 
there will be eternal witness in the " lake of fire/' 
where His wrath will necessarily burn against 
those who have made it necessary for that wrath 
thus to act. 

But there could be no life without heat; so 
there could be no moral, spiritual life without 
God's judgment. Those who plead for the elim- 
ination of this character from our God, would 
plunge all creation into absolute death. It can- 
not and will not be. The fire must do its work, 
which even in judgment will display God's good- 
ness as well as His righteousness. But we will 
gather up a few scripture statements as to fire. 

The principal word for fire is a primitive root, 
as we might expect from its being a common 
need from the beginning. We find similar words 
in other languages. It was considered by the 
ancients as one of the elements, and frequently 
worshiped as God. We see in this how Satan 
uses God's gifts, which manifest His goodness 



428 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

and power, as means of blinding men to Him- 
self. And when anything is put in God's place 
it becomes an idol, and is debased from its proper 
beneficent use into that which misrepresents 
Him, and degrades and debauches man. Thus 
evil ever works in a circle — a descending spiral, 
which but for the arresting power of God's grace, 
will go on until eternity stops it in the confines 
of the lake of fire. 

As all error is a perversion or distortion of 
truth, or a wrong application of it, we may be 
sure that fire does speak of God, and shows His 
character, if we but search the word of God to 
learn as to it. In itself fire is, like everything 
else in God's creation, but a manifestation of His 
power and wisdom; from this fact, it becomes 
a symbol of His energy in a spiritual way. 

Upon Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire 
were rained by the Lord out of heaven (Gen. 19: 
24). Whether God made use of natural means to 
bring about this judgment, is not our care. It is 
sufficient for us to know that He did it. The 
future doom of the wicked He has described in 
the same way: " Upon the wicked He shall rain 
snares, fire and brimstone, and a horrible tem- 
pest; this shall be the portion of their cup " (Ps. 
11: 6). See also Ps. 21 : 9; Isa. 30: 33; 66 : 15, 
16. These and many other solemn passages 
declare the inevitable and necessary doom of 
the ungodly. 



The Altar of Burnt-offering 429 

If it be objected that these passages are all 
from the Old Testament, and must therefore be 
taken in a figurative sense, we need but turn to 
the pages of the New to find the same testimony 
from the lips of our Saviour Himself: " Where 
their worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched** 
(Mark 9: 48; Luke 16: 23, 24). And the closing 
book of God's word is full of references to the 
awful judgment of fire, closing with: " This is the 
second death . . . the lake of fire M (Rev. 20: 14, 
15). Whoever denies this solemn and necessary- 
truth denies Christ and His word. 

Fire, then, is a symbol of God's judgment. But 
we have abundant allusions to it in other scrip- 
tures, which give us varied though related views. 
The angel of the Lord appeared to Moses u ina 
flame of fire out of the midst of a bush " (Ex. 3: 
2). The presence of God was manifest thus, 
suggesting at once the afflictions through which 
His people (the bush) were passing in Egypt, 
and that He had permitted and was using these. 
Because of His presence the bush was not con- 
sumed. On the other hand, in the plague upon 
the Egyptians, "the fire ran along the ground" 
in destructive power (Ex. 9: 23). When the blood- 
sheltered people were passing their last night in 
Egypt, they were to feed upon the lamb " roast 
with fire" (Ex. 12: 8). And all their nights 
throughout their wilderness journey were lighted 
by the "pillar of fire " (Ex. 13: 21). When God 



430 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

gave them the law, He descended upon Sinai in 
fire (Ex. 19: 18). When Nadab and Abihu sinned 
by offering " strange fire," the judgment fell 
upon them in the form of fire (Lev. 10 : 2). In 
Ezekiel, the prophet saw the glory of the Lord in 
connection with the fire (Ezek. 1: 4, 27). "The 
Lord thy God is a consuming fire " (Deut. 4: 24). 

The fire thus is typical of God's judgment 
which must fall upon all sin. It also shows His 
essential holiness and righteousness, both in con- 
nection with His enemies and His own people. 
The former, if they do not repent, must endure 
that unutterable wrath which is forever and 
ever; the latter must have all their dross burned 
away, and at the judgment-seat of Christ all their 
works must stand the test of that discriminating 
holiness. We will now apply these thoughts to 
the fire of the altar of burnt-offering. 

The tabernacle speaks of God manifest in 
grace, and therefore, as we have seen, every 
part is in some way or other typical of Him 
through whom "grace and truth "were mani- 
fested (Jno. 1: 17). It is not grace apart from 
truth — which would not be grace at all — but 
grace and truth; grace manifested in and by the 
truth. God is absolute truth, and so is the reve- 
lation of Himself. Apart from Him, all is the 
blackest night of error, the lie of Satan. The 
only One therefore who could perfectly reveal 
Him was He who could say, " I am the Way, the 



The Altar of Burnt-offering 431 

Truth and the Life: no man cometh unto the 
Father but by Me " (Jno. 14: 6). 
. In the composition and form of the altar we 
have seen these truths presented in relation to 
man's actual condition. A spotless and incor- 
ruptible humanity linked with absolute Godhead 
(the shittim wood and the copper) expresses the 
person of Christ. The copper suggesting, as we 
have seen, the unyielding, unchanging character 
of God, which must abide and be maintained in 
the face of all else. For disobedience and sin 
this means inflexible and eternal judgment. We 
might say that the copper, with its fire-like glow, 
leads us to the fire which burned upon it. Indeed 
we have the two combined where the Lord is 
seen walking as Judge amidst the seven golden 
candlesticks: " His feet like unto fine brass as if 
they burned in a furnace " (Rev. 1 : 15). 

Grace, then, facing guilty man, can only be 
displayed in accord with the " truth" of God's 
immutable nature; the unyielding demands of 
His nature, as copper, must be met. This is 
why the first article we meet in our approach to 
God is an altar — a place of sacrifice, where life is 
given up — life for life, we may say, and the fire of 
divine holiness consumes the Victim. 

In its last analysis, therefore, the altar was the 
place where the fire could burn; and this was 
upon the grating of copper. On this one spot 
alone, typically speaking, could the fire of divine 



432 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

holiness and judgment burn without eternal de- 
struction upon its objects. The mountains would 
" flow down," and the hills melt "like wax" 
(Isa. 64: 1, 2; Ps. 97: 5). When at last He does 
thus take up His creation to purge it according 
to His nature, " the heavens shall pass away with 
a great noise, and the elements shall melt with 
fervent heat, the earth also and the works that 
are therein shall be burned up" (2 Pet. 3: 10). 
This, of course, is in necessary judgment — 
"the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burn- 
ing" (Isa. 4: 4), a preparatory and anticipative 
judgment just before the millennium, which shall 
be literally and completely inflicted at its close, 
prior to the eternal state. 

Who could for one moment abide that awful 
day of the wrath of God ? There was one Per- 
son, only one place, where that fire could burn 
and find all abiding, because all was according to 
His holy nature. The grate-work, where the fire 
of divine judgment could burn, was the bosom 
of the Son of God. Here was One who could 
righteously be the Substitute for guilty sinners. 
His holy person enabled Him to be the bearer of 
wrath. The fire of the thrice-holy God could and 
did burn there, and found nothing to be consumed 
save the sins which our Lord in grace had taken 
upon Himself — sins so great, so many, that one 
doom awaited our whole race. The Cross! — here 
were sins judged and put away, Satan's power 



The Altar of Burnt-offering 433 

annulled, the world crucified, and divine right- 
eousness found an eternal foundation for blessing 
toward creation, with the display of inflexible 
justice and divine love combined. 

The grate of copper we can see would fittingly 
set forth the nature of our Lord's atoning work; 
and the thoughts we have been dwelling upon 
would justify the opinion that the grate was in- 
side the altar, in its very midst. 

For our Lord did not bear the fire of divine 
judgment in any external, superficial way. It is 
but a feeble and partial view cf those sufferings 
which would enlarge upon the persecution of 
ungodly men, or even the malice of Satan who 
urged them on. These might explain the bodily 
anguish to which our holy Lord permitted Him- 
self to be subjected; but the fire of divine holi- 
ness, heart-searching judgment against sin went 
down into the utmost centre of His being. Rev- 
erently may we tread upon such holy ground. 
Sin is not an external thing, though it mars the 
outward man. Its source is the heart, the centre 
of man's being; and therefore in the sinless Sub- 
stitute the flame searched down into His holy 
soul. Atoning suffering, like the sin of man, 
was in the heart. The piercing of the nails, the 
crown of thorns, the jeers of the people, the 
spear-thrust, did not set forth the deep essence 
of His sufferings. God only, who searcheth the 
heart, knows what it meant. The Son, who bore 



434 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

this judgment, knows the intensity of that fire 
which burned down into His soul when made 
4 'an offering for sin." The Holy Spirit, through 
whom He offered Himself without spot unto 
God, knows what those sufferings meant. For 
ourselves, may we with chastened, adoring hearts 
remember, 

" The depth of all Thy suffering 
No heart could e'er conceive ! " 

In view of all this, how low is the view that 
our Lord's sufferings were abated penalty, as 
some would have it — something less than what 
the sinner will have to endure. Scripture is per- 
fectly plain, that our Lord bore the full penalty 
of sin — the wrath, the forsaking of God in the 
" outer darkness" (God having withdrawn in 
forsaking judgment) and death. If it be asked, 
Was the cross the same as the eternal lake of 
fire ? and if not, did the Lord bear the exact 
penalty which the sinner must bear? We answer, 
The essence of the judgment is in the wrath and 
the forsaking of God. It does not change the 
sinner's heart who, spurning God's grace, would 
rather be anywhere than in the light of His in- 
finite holiness. The doom is eternal, because 
the sinner's character remains unchanged, it re- 
mains fixed — a great gulf fixed (Luke 16 : 26), 
and "he that is unjust, let him be unjust still" 
(Rev. 22: 11), with no desire for God or heaven. 



The Altar of Burnt-offering 435 

But how was it with our Lord ? His heart re- 
mained as just, as pure, as true, when He was for- 
saken upon the cross as when He took counsel 
with the Father before the worlds were made, 
or when He was displayed in the unsullied light 
of the "holy mount" (2 Pet. 1 : 18). His sole 
object there was the Father's will, His one mo- 
tive to glorify Him, to manifest His love in 
righteousness. The smiting, the forsaking, the 
darkness, made no change whatever in that spot- 
less, holy One — praise His name forever! 

It was not possible, therefore, that He should 
be holden of death (Acts 2: 24), as all that right- 
eousness required had been done. One answer 
alone could be given to such a work and piety 
— to be "raised from the dead by the glory 
of the Father," and to the throne in heaven. 
That infinite value attached to the Person is 
true, but full judgment having been visited and 
the heart remaining true and absolutely devoted 
to God, the righteous answer to it could only be 
to cease the infliction. But man's heart, alas, is 
unchanged by judgment ; nothing but divine 
grace can do that; and if man will not have grace, 
he must have judgment. 

In one sense we are taking the altar as a figure 
of the full atoning work of the Lord, to the ex- 
clusion of the burning of the sin-offering " with- 
out the camp" (Lev. 16 : 27; Heb. 13 : 11, 12). 
That would show the effect of wrath-bearing, the 



436 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

forsaking and judgment of God. But do we not 
have in the fire the essential elements of that ? 
including, as we shall see, much else. Thus the 
burnt-offering was the normal offering, and gave 
its name to the altar, because it included the 
essential elements of all the sacrifices. 

It is true, as has been shown,* that the word 
for the burning without the camp means to con- 
sume, to burn up (similar to the word for sera- 
phim, Isa. 6: 2, 6), while that for the burning of 
the fat of the sin-offering upon the altar is the 
word used for burning incense (Lev. 16: 25, 27). 
But does not the very fact that the fat of that 
offering, which was consumed outside the camp, 
was burned as a sweet savor upon the brazen 
altar, show that while the two thoughts were 
to be distinguished, they were not to be sepa- 
rated? Otherwise, the altar of burnt-offering 
and its sacrifice would not signify full atone- 
ment. 

The grate> then, in the midst of the altar, 
teaches that in the atoning work of our Lord 
Jesus God's righteous judgment was borne in His 
inmost soul. It is to be expected therefore that 
in the experience book, the Psalms, we will find 
those utterances of our Lord which express the 
inward experiences through which He passed 
when on the cross. 

*See the " Numerical Bible," Leviticus, pp. 289, 290, Notes. 



The Altar of Burnt-offering 437 

" My heart is like wax; it is melted in the 
midst of my bowels" (Ps. 22 : 14). "Mine in- 
iquities have taken hold upon Me, so that I am 
not able to look up; they are more than the hairs 
of my head: therefore my heart faileth Me " 
(Ps. 40: 12). "Reproach hath broken my heart, 
and I am full of heaviness ... for they perse- 
cute Him whom Thou hast smitten " (Ps. 69: 20, 
26). " My days are consumed like smoke, and 
my bones are burned like a hearth. My heart is 
smitten and withered like grass; so that I forget 
to eat my bread . . . For I have eaten ashes 
like bread, and mingled my drink with weeping, 
because of thine indignation and thy wrath" 
(Ps. 102: 3, 4, 9, 10). 

These and similar expressions indicate the in- 
ward nature of that anguish which our holy Lord 
endured in love for us. Thus we see what the 
"grate" points to. Could we conceive of any 
heart but His, answering in absolute subjection 
to God, divinely perfect, bearing the fire of that 
holiness ? The grate must be of copper, or it 
could not stand the fire put upon it. 

And does not this thought of the grate show 
the propriety of the rings, by which the whole 
altar was carried, being placed at its corners ? 
What was it that brought our Lord down in the 
first place ? It was His heart of love to God and 
to man. And what carried Him through His life 
of lowly suffering and rejection, even up to Cal- 



438 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

vary ? It was the same. Those copper rings tell 
of a purpose which nothing could turn aside. 
And according to that devotedness to God and 
man our Lord accompanies His people every 
step of their journey through this wilderness 
scene, bearing witness to the value of His cross. 
Every blessing, every care, every mercy is linked 
by these " rings " with that Heart which bore the 
judgment we deserved. Is the saint ever tempted 
to doubt the love of God or of Christ ? " He that 
spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up 
for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely 
give us all things ? " (Rom. 8: 32). Every bless- 
ing is pledged by the cross. Let us take in the 
preciousness of this, and count upon that fulness 
of grace which suffices for " all things that per- 
tain unto life and godliness " (2 Pet. 1: 3). The 
four rings, the number of the earth and of need, 
may well emphasize these thoughts. 

The altar was three cubits high, and the grate 
in the midst would therefore be one and a half 
cubits above the ground, or the height of the 
mercy-seat. Redemption at the cross and accept- 
ance before God are on one plane. God received 
His beloved Son into glory as our Representa- 
tive on the basis of His atoning work upon the 
cross. The Great Shepherd of the sheep was 
brought again from the dead in the value of the 
blood of the everlasting covenant (Heb. 13: 20). 
So too, as we shall see in another connection, He 



The Altar of Burnt-offering 439 

entered in by His own blood into the holiest, 
having obtained eternal redemption (Heb. 
9: 12). 

It remains to speak a little of the utensils 
which were used in connection with the altar. 
These were: pans to receive the ashes, shovels, 
basins, flesh-hooks, and fire-pans. They were all 
made of copper. 

The pans or pots (siroth, from a word meaning 
" to boil ") were to receive and remove the ashes. 
This may come more fully before us in consider- 
ing the sacrifices; but we may gather here a few 
thoughts which are suggested. There are two 
words for " ashes:" one is the general term, 
largely used in the language of mourning (Es- 
ther 4 : 1, 3; Job 2:8; 42 : 6; Isa. 61 : 3, etc.), 
also as showing the emptiness and vanity of 
things: "He feedeth on ashes" (Isa. 44: 20). 
The other word is only used in connection with 
the sacrifices, and literally means "fat." This 
has been thought to be because of the burning 
of the fat on the altar, which would thus satu- 
rate the ashes. Be that as it may, the word is 
significant and suggestive. Ashes are the witness 
that the fire has done its work, the witness of 
an accomplished and accepted sacrifice. So we 
read in the margin of psalm 20: 3, "The Lord 
turn to ashes thy burnt sacrifice," translated "ac- 
cept," in explanation of the text. This witness 
of an accepted sacrifice is not a sign of sorrow, 



440 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

for which the other word is used; nor of worth- 
lessness and vanity. There is nothing worth- 
less in connection with the sacrifice of our Lord 
Jesus Christ. 

The ashes of the sacrifice were first put 
on the east side of the altar, toward the sun- 
rise; they were then removed to a clean place 
outside the camp (Lev. 4 : 12; 6 : 10, 11). Our 
blessed Lord's body, after He had yielded up 
His life to God on the cross, was kept absolutely 
inviolate. The piercing of the spear was in ful- 
filment of Scripture, and furnished the evidence 
that He had actually died. But " a bone of Him 
shall not be broken " (Jno. 19 : 33-37). So that 
precious body ("A body hast Thou prepared Me," 
Heb. 10: 5) was not suffered to be treated as 
that of a criminal, but was judicially handed 
over to those who loved Him, wrapped in fra- 
grant and costly perfume, and laid in a new 
grave hewn out of the rock (Jno. 19: 38-42; Luke 
23: 52, 53). Does not all this show in reality 
what was suggested in the "fat ashes?" No 
wonder that the pan in which they were carried 
to the clean place, and the shovel ( yah, from a 
root meaning to snatch or sweep away), which 
put them into the pan, were of copper. The same 
unyielding judgment which had dealt with Him 
upon the cross now demanded the fullest honor 
to Him, in judicial testimony to the acceptance 
of His sacrifice. The east side of the altar, the 



The Altar of Burnt-offering 441 

side of the sunrise, where the ashes were placed, 
is not only the witness of accepted sacrifice, but 
the pledge of resurrection. 

All this was ever before the Lord. He always 
linked His resurrection with His death (Matt. 
16: 21). The ashes thus would speak of God's 
acceptance of Christ's sacrifice, giving full assur- 
ance to the believer of his acceptance. 

But few words need be said as to the other 
utensils, which were also of copper. The judicial 
righteousness of God was engaged in every act, 
and the whole dealing, both in our Lord's death 
and what followed, was on the basis of that un- 
swerving, unyielding character. Thus the basins 
(inizrekotk, from a word meaning "to sprinkle ") 
which received the blood, and from which it was 
poured or sprinkled upon the altar, were of cop- 
per. The full measure of judgment had been 
poured out. The use of the basins or bowls is 
seen in a passage in Zechariah (9: 15). The 
blood of the Lord's enemies, who refuse to yield 
to Him, is fully shed, and those who are used by 
Him for this will be "filled like bowls, and as 
the corners of the altar," where the blood was 
poured out. The use of the flesh-hooks (mizlegoth, 
from a root meaning to "draw up ") is not stated. 
They were apparently for handling the various 
parts of the sacrifice, at different stages. All was 
in accord with divine justice, to which the Holy 
One willingly submitted. Oh, the suffering! 



442 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

May we love and worship Him, and abhor the 
sin which made such suffering necessary. 

One other class of utensils remains — the fire- 
pans (inahathoth, from a root meaning to "take 
up " — as fire). These were receptacles for coals of 
fire, and were used probably to carry the fire 
from the altar of burnt-offering to the altar of 
incense, or possibly to contain the fire when re- 
arranging the wood or the sacrifice upon the 
altar. The same word is also used for censers, 
the pans which contained fire upon which incense 
was sprinkled. The two uses were so related to 
each other that the same word is used to describe 
both. It is also the word translated " snuff- 
dishes " (Ex. 25: 38), which were used to contain 
the charred ends of the wicks of the lamps upon 
the golden candlestick. These fire-pans, in con- 
nection with the altar of burnt-offering, were to 
be of copper — all the utensils uniting in one 
voice with the materials of the grate and the 
covering to declare that God's judgment is, like 
all His attributes, inflexible ; and that the One 
who alone could bear that judgment, is the di- 
vine-human Son. 

We see the solemn and inevitable result of 
approaching God in any other way than through 
the divinely-appointed priest and sacrifice, in the 
destruction of Korah and his company (Num. 16), 
who despised the priest of God, Aaron, on the 
plea that all the congregation were holy. God 



jThe Altar of Burnt-offering 443 

manifested there could be no possible standing 
or acceptance before Him, save on the ground of 
sacrifice, through the divinely-appointed priest. 
Korah and his company were commanded to 
bring each a brazen censer with Aaron also, and 
God would declare whom He owned as priest. 
Fire from God having devoured the blasphemers, 
Aaron alone remained to represent the people be- 
fore God. As mediator between God and the 
rebellious people in that solemn scene, he stood 
between the living and the dead (Num. 16: 46- 
50), thus setting forth Christ as Mediator and 
Intercessor, linked with His sacrifice, as the only 
way to God. 

This lesson is impressed by making the brazen 
censers into plates for a covering to the brazen 
altar, to keep before their eyes the certainty of 
judgment for any that despise the sacrifice and 
priest of God; but it was linked with the altar, 
as though God would not merely give warning, 
but turn the eye to the effectual shelter from 
that judgment which He must execute upon those 
who refuse His grace. 



LECTURE XVIII 

The Laver 
(Ex. 38:8.) 

IN the order of construction, "the laver and 
its foot" is given after the altar of burnt- 
offering, and in a single verse. In the directions 
for its construction and use (chap. 30: 17-21), 
there is but little actual description, which has, 
no doubt, its significance ; for silence in Scripture 
is not meaningless. 

The word kiyor, translated " laver," is literally 
a "pot," used for boiling, or as a receptacle for 
water. Connected with this was the "foot ' or 
stand, and of both it is said, " to wash withal." 
This base or " foot ' seems to have been directly 
connected with purifying. This has led to the sup- 
position that it was more than a mere support to 
the laver — that it was a smaller vessel at the foot 
of the large one, into which some of the water 
was taken for cleansing. 

We have already noticed that the " foot " as well 
as the laver was "to wash withal " (30: 18). The 
next verse suggests that the laver was a reser- 
voir and not a basin: "Aaron and his sons shall 
wash their hands and their feet from it " (not 
"thereat," as in our Version). This suggests 
that water was taken from the laver for the pur- 




THE LAVER AND HIS FOOT «all of coppers 

NO DIMENSIONS GIVEN THE FOOT WAS EVIDENTLY AN ADJUNCT FOR 

THE WASHING OP HANDS AND FEET fEXOD 30 21» 



The Laver 445 

poses of washing. " The laver and his foot " were 
anointed (Lev. 8: n). This would be peculiar, 
unless the "foot " had a distinctive use. 

On the other hand, in the detailed description 
of the "bases'' (a word from the same root as 
"foot"), for the temple of Solomon, their pur- 
pose was evidently to support the lavers (i Kings 
7: 27-39). In connection with the brazen "sea," 
which is also fully described, no mention is made 
of smaller vessels into which the water was 
poured for actual use (1 Kings 7: 23-26). 

Nor are we left to conjecture that the ten 
lavers were used for this purpose, for we are 
told, " He made also ten lavers, and put five on 
the right hand and five on the left, to wash in 
them ; such things as they offered for the burnt- 
offering they washed (or, "cleansed") in them; 
but the sea was for the priests to wash in" 
(2 Chr. 4: 6). . 

We may not, therefore, dogmatize about the 
use of the "foot," but confine ourselves to what 
is obvious. The word would suggest a solid basis 
for the laver. This must be our primary thought. 
From being spoken of separately, we can at least 
see that our attention is drawn to it. We are 
certainly clear in referring to it as the support or 
foundation for the laver; and in addition, we may 
gather that either it, or some other vessel was 
used to take water from the laver for the various 
washings. The dimensions or form of the laver 



446 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

and its foot are not given ; nothing but the ma- 
terial and the position it was to occupy in the 
court are mentioned — between the tabernacle 
and the altar. Explicit directions for its use 
were given. Aaron and his sons were to wash 
their hands and feet from it when they went into 
the tabernacle to minister, or when they came to 
the altar of burnt-offering in connection with 
sacrifice. They could not neglect this under pen- 
alty of death. 

Another striking omission regarding the laver 
is that it was not specially committed to any of 
the Levite families, nor was any provision made 
for carrying it through the wilderness. Indeed 
it is only mentioned once after the account of its 
construction and placing, when Moses anointed 
it (Lev. 8: n). The laver is never mentioned 
again, and Solomon's "sea "is the first we hear 
of anything taking its place. This absence of de- 
tail is in marked contrast with the elaborate 
description of the "brazen sea" and the lavers 
in connection with the temple. Is not our atten- 
tion all the more drawn to what is mentioned, 
and may we not thus also learn the meaning of 
the absence of detail ? 

The directions given as to the laver and its 
use in chap. 30, being after the altar of incense 
and in the same general connection, suggest 
that both altar of incense and laver, were inti- 
mately connected with priestly work. 



The Laver 447 

The layer's only material was copper; it was 
made from the mirrors of the women engaged 
in the manufacture of the curtains of the taber- 
nacle. They willingly offered their mirrors for 
the construction of the laver — willingly offered 
what might gratify vanity to provide for that 
vessel of cleansing, that God's service and wor- 
ship might not be hindered. 

In the consecration of the priests, Aaron and 
his sons were first taken and washed completely 
— bathed all over. That washing was once for 
all. It settled the whole question of their fitness 
for the service of God. In their daily min- 
istry, the priests had to wash their hands and 
their feet at the brazen laver. Whenever they 
entered the tabernacle, whether it were to ar- 
range the showbread, trim the lamps, or offer 
sweet incense, they first of all washed at the 
brazen laver; and when they came out and min- 
istered at the altar of burnt-offering, the same 
action was repeated, so that the priests were con- 
tinually washing. 

In looking at the laver's spiritual significance, 
we will take it up somewhat in the order I have 
suggested: First, its material, copper, as we have 
previously seen, is symbolic of that attribute of 
God which represents His unyielding character 
in judgment, and in testing all things by His 
holiness. It is singularly appropriate that, in 
the court outside of the tabernacle, the chief 



448 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

metal should be copper; while inside the taber- 
nacle it is gold. Gold, as we saw, represents 
divine righteousness manifested in glory, and 
therefore its full display is within the sanctuary 
where God makes Himself known. Heaven is 
the true sphere in which the glory of divine 
righteousness will be perfectly displayed. But 
here in the world, it is fittingly appropriate that 
copper should have been the metal to exhibit 
the character of God in relation to His creatures. 
It is God's inflexible holiness and justice mani- 
fested in His dealings with His creatures. It 
means that if they are sinful creatures, He must 
deal with them in judgment ; or, if not with 
them, with One who comes under judgment as 
their substitute; this is where His grace put our 
blessed Lord, who submitted Himself to the ac- 
tion of God's righteous dealings with man be- 
cause of sin. 

In the laver we are reminded of this inflexible 
righteousness and justice, in Him who has man- 
ifested God in His true character: " In the be- 
ginning was the Word, and the Word was with 
God, and the Word was God " (Jno. i : i). I quote 
this passage in connection with the laver, because 
it is singularly appropriate that the living, per- 
sonal Word should be the embodiment of those 
attributes of God which come out in* connection 
with the written Word, which the laver repre- 
sents. That is, as we shall see later on, the laver 



The Laver 449 

filled with water is symbolic of the word of God. 
Christ Himself is the living Word, and through 
Him is the word of God given to us. The action 
of the blessed Spirit is not excluded, of course ; 
but if God had not seen fit to speak to us of the 
personal Word, He would not have given us His 
written Word. In connection with John i : i, 
showing us Christ as the Word, we have in John 
5: 22-27, judgment committed to the Son. All 
are to honor the Son, the living Word, as they 
honor the Father; and thus, the divine charac- 
teristics of righteousness and judgment are asso- 
ciated with the Son, who has all authority be- 
stowed upon Him for the execution of judgment 
according to God's unchanging character. 

If we turn to 2 Cor. 5: 10, 11, we see the time 
is coming when this judgment, committed to the 
Son, will be executed by Him. "We must all 
appear before the judgment seat of Christ " 
primarily speaks of the time when the believer's 
works shall come in review, when the Lord will 
manifest just what grace did for us. He will 
show what we were by nature and practice. He 
will show how His grace led us ; how He bore 
with us ; how He delivered us from many a 
snare. He will show also where self-will was at 
work, and the bitter fruits of it; everything at 
the judgment-seat of Christ for His saints will 
be to display the glory of His grace in connection 
with His people's ways. 



450 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

Later on, the unbeliever must stand before this 
judgment-seat also, as we know (Rev. 20: 11-15), 
but the time and character of it are entirely 
different. 

As we think of the judgment-seat of Christ, 
of the solemnity and holiness of the scene, of the 
majesty of Him who sits there, surely solemn 
awe and reverence fill the heart ; yet, not slavish 
dread, nor calling upon the mountains and hills 
to cover us; no, thank God, nor desire to flee 
from that Presence. But if the judgment-seat of 
Christ is a solemn place for true believers, what 
will it be for unbelievers? "Knowing there- 
fore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men," 
says the apostle. The very thought of the judg- 
ment-seat should redouble our earnestness to 
urge sinners to "flee from the wrath to come," 
of which Scripture speaks as "the wrath of the 
Lamb." 

The Lord in the midst of the candlesticks, which 
represent His assemblies on earth (Rev., chaps. 
2 and 3), is now looking with eyes like a piercing 
flame of fire, and with heart -searching words, 
among those who are in the place of responsible 
testimony for Him. Solemn and searching scene 
it is! While singling out everything He can ap- 
prove, He equally singles out what He must 
judge and condemn — He is executing judgment 
in the midst of the assemblies. These scriptures 
will be sufficient to show the appropriateness of 



The Laver 451 

the copper in connection with the laver. It is not 
the execution of judgment upon our Substitute, 
nor is it the infliction of judgment upon us; but 
it is the testing and trying of our ways by the 
Son of God according to the authority given Him 
to judge among His people, before He judges 
all the earth at a later day. 

The laver's material was copper, but of the 
mirrors which the women offered. It is a beau- 
tiful indication of what the sense of God's good- 
ness will produce in the heart. Attraction to 
Him ever produces holiness. It is the only way 
that holiness is produced. The mirror may speak 
to us of the vanity and self-occupation which be- 
get pride. In Isaiah 3: 23 we find, amongst an 
enumeration of articles by which the daughters 
of Israel fostered their pride, is the mention 
of "glasses" — which may be rendered "mirrors." 
What a fruit of divine grace it is, willingly to 
sacrifice that which naturally ministers to pride 
to obtain what fits us for communion with God. 
God's grace alone can do this — convert the 
mirror into a laver. 

We have a striking illustration of the na- 
tural use of the mirror in the man of the 18th of 
Luke. Holding the glass before himself, he 
contemplates his excellences and beauties: "God, 
I thank Thee that I am not as other men are." 
He looks again and says: "I fast twice in the 
week, I give tithes of all that I possess." How 



452 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

satisfied with himself! — and that is what we natu- 
rally do. 

Look at the contrast to this. See now one to 
tvhom the Lord holds up the divine mirror — the 
woman of Samaria in the 4th of John. The 
Lord is going to show her Himself; to give her 
the knowledge of salvation, and through her to 
the town in which she lives. He holds up the 
mirror to her. She sees her true condition, but 
she also sees Himself, the Sent One, the Messiah. 
What is the effect ? She leaves her water-pot 
and goes into the city saying, " Come, see a Man, 
which told me all things that ever I did; is not 
this the Christ? " The mirror of human pride is 
exchanged for the mirror of divine reflection — it 
is the word of God, showing what we are and 
who Christ is. Wherever Christ is permitted 
thus to hold up the mirror before our gaze, the 
Pharisee joins the Publican in saying: "God, be 
merciful to me the sinner! " 

Look at another illustration of the mirror. In 
Phil. 3: 4-7, Paul tells us how in former days 
he used to look in the looking-glass: "Circum- 
cised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the 
tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; 
as touching the law a Pharisee," etc. How he 
used to delight to look at each feature and boast 
in his excellence ! But a view of Christ in glory 
broke him to pieces, and the things that were 
gain to him, he then counted loss for Christ. 



The Laver 453 

Thus he discarded the mirror of self-complac- 
ency. 

But in Rom. 7, he takes it up, we might say, 
not now to prove his righteousness, but in long- 
ing after holiness. He takes up the law of God, 
and says, Surely if I am to answer to God's 
thoughts of holiness, I must keep this law. So he 
turned to the law, which had once condemned 
him as a sinner, turns to it now as a saint for 
holiness. He begins to look at himself again for 
fruits of holiness. Notice how the Spirit of God 
uses the law. He gets a view of his own heart, 
and forty times in that chapter he says "I," 
"me," " my" — it is all himself; and what is the 
result of it all ? " Oh, wretched man that I am, 
who shall deliver me from the body of this 
death ? " 

The apostle James (chap. 1 : 23) uses this fig- 
ure of the mirror, as we have been doing, in a 
somewhat different connection. A man who hears 
the Word without its entering into his soul, is 
like one who looks into a mirror indeed, but who 
does not remember what is revealed to him there. 
On the other hand, the one who hears and bows 
to the Word and allows it to act, looks into the 
perfect law of liberty; not into the law for salva- 
tion, nor to produce holiness, but into "the law 
of liberty," the word of God, which has set us 
free. He looks into that and continues therein, 
and is blest in his doing. It is the use of the 



454 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

mirror, very closely connected with what we 
shall see applies to the laver. 

Let us gather from the Old and New Testa- 
ment scriptures what will show us the spiritual 
significance of these washings. 

There are four words in the Old Testament 
translated "wash;" two of these are used only 
a very few times. 

Quah (to put away), is used twice in reference 
to cleansing the sacrifice (2 Chron. 4:6; Ezek. 40: 
38). Its only other use for cleansing is in 
Isa. 4: 4. 

Shataph means primarily to "gush," "over- 
flow," and to " rinse," by letting the water flow 
over, as over the hands. It is used thus in Lev. 
15: 11, 12; 6: 28. It also occurs in Ezek. 16:9. All 
of these suggest the thorough removal or sweep- 
ing away of defilement, as by a flowing stream. 
Ahab's chariot was washed — sluiced out — in the 
pool of Samaria, where the dogs licked his blood. 

Rahatz (one of the two words remaining for 
"wash") occurs in the same verse, "They washed 
his armor" (1 Kings 22: 38). It means primarily 
to "bathe," and is the word most frequently 
used. With this single exception* the word is 

*This is really no exception, as the word here rendered 
" armor' ■ is never translated in any other way than " harlot. " 
So that the passage probably reads, ' ' Where the harlots bathed ' ' 
— confirming the use of the word. The twofold contempt of 
" dogs " and " harlots " was put upon Ahab in his death. 



The Laver 455 

used for bathing the person or the sacrifice. We 
will look at a few characteristic passages. 

5 'And Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring unto 
the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, 
and shalt wash them with water" (Ex. 29 : 4; 
40: 12) — from its immediately following tfie an- 
ointing of the laver, it might be gathered that 
it was from that vessel that they were washed. 
''And Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their 
hands and their feet thereat " (at the laver, Ex, 

40: 3 1 )- 

The cleansed leper washed before he could 
have his place in the camp (Lev. 14: 8, 9). 

The person who was unclean from various 
causes had to bathe (Lev. 15: 5, 6, etc.) 

On the Day of Atonement Aaron was obliged 
to bathe both before and after making atone- 
ment (Lev. 16: 4, 24); so also the person who 
took the scape -goat away, and the one who burned 
the sin-offering outside the camp, were to bathe 
(Lev. 16: 26, 28). The same was true in prepar- 
ing the ashes of the red heifer (Num. 19 : 7). 
Naaman was to wash seven times in Jordan 
(2 Kings 5:10). It was used also in reference to 
parts of the body, as washing the feet (Gen. 43: 24), 
theface(Gen. 43: 31), hands and feet (Ex.40: 31,32). 

In the sacrifice the same word was used, bath- 
ing the parts so that they were absolutely clean 
(Lev. 1 : 9, etc.) 

We have then an evident unity in the use of 



456 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

this word. It was used to express the cleansing 
of the person in whole or in part. The sacrifice 
here comes under the same category as being a 
substitute for the person, and also a type of One 
Who needed no cleansing but who submitted 
Himself to every test, and whose inherent holi- 
ness was thus perfectly manifested. 

" Kctbas" is the last word for " wash," the use 
oJE which is fully as distinctive as the one we 
have ;ust examined. The word means to * ' tread, " 
and so to wash by treading, and is applied only 
to the washing of clothes and other articles, or 
in describing the spiritual effect of cleansing, as 
in psalm 51: 2, 7; Jer. 2: 22; 4: 14. We find a 
number of times these two words used side by 
side in the same verse; the one always applied 
to the person and the other to the clothing (Lev. 
15: 7, etc.) In one passage we have three words 
used each in its characteristic way: rinsing the 
hands, washing the clothes, and bathing the per- 
son (Lev. 15: 11). 

These words then may well suggest to us three 
views of cleansing : (1) The cleansing of the 
person, or his members. (2) The effect secured 
by washing, as of clothes — the habits. (3) The 
uncleanness being swept away, removed. 

Let us now consider the New Testament pas- 
sages, and with their light as to the spiritual 
meaning, return to the Old Testament to gather 
their import there. 



The Laver 457 

It is significant that in that book where the sub- 
stance takes the place of the shadow, the fre- 
quency of the words for " washing " is greatly- 
reduced. Thus the word rahatz occurs nearly as 
many times in Leviticus as all the words for 
"washing" in the New Testament; while those 
words which speak of the divine work of grace, 
such as " holiness," "peace," "love," etc.* are 
abundantly present. 

The several words for "washing" in the New 
Testament, are: 

Luo: "Whom, when they had washed" (Acts 9 : 37). 
" Our bodies washed with pure water" (Heb.10 : 22). 
" Unto Him that loveth us and washed us from 

our sins " (Rev. 1 : 5). 
" Washed their stripes" — more literally, "Washed 

them from their stripes " (Acts 16 : 33). 
" The sow that was washed " (2 Pet. 2 : 22). 
Apoluo: "Arise. . . and wash away thy sins "(Acts 22: 16). 
" Ye are washed, ye are sanctified " (1 Cor. 6 : 11). 
Brecho : " Began to wash His feet " (Luke 7 : 38, 44). 
Nipto: " Wash thy face " (Matt. 6 : 17). 

" They wash not their hands " (Matt. 15: 2). 
" Except they wash their hands " (Mark 7 : 3). 
"Go, wash in the pool of Siloam " (Jno. 9:7; also 

vers. 11, 15). 
" Began to wash the disciples' feet " (Jno. 13 : 5) ; 

also vers. 6, 8, 10, 12, 14. 
" If she have washed the saints' feet " (1 Tim. 5 : 10). 
Aponipto: " Washed his hands " (Matt. 27 : 24). 
Pluno: "Have washed their robes" (Rev. 7: 14); also 

Rev. 22 : 14 (R. V.) 
Apopluno, " Washing their nets " (Luke 5 : 2). 



458 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

The word brecho has a special and tender 
meaning in the only passage where it is trans- 
slated "wash." It means literally to "rain;" 
the tear-drops of the penitent are more than 
ordinary washing ; they were as a refreshing 
shower, true drops from heaven. 

The regular words luo and apoluo, refer to 
general washing of the person. 

Nipto and aponipto refer to the washing of 
some part of the body, as hands, face, feet. 

Pluno and apopluno refer to the washing of 
articles, such as clothing. 

The use of luo and nipto are illustrated in the 
same verse: "He that is washed (bathed, from 
luo), needeth not save to wash (from nipto) his 
feet, but is clean every whit " (Jno. 13: 10) ; these 
two expressions evidently point to two different 
spiritual cleansings. 

Let us now look at the significance of "water " 
AS the means used for this cleansing: "Except 
a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he 
cannot enter into the kingdom of God " (Jno. 3 : 5). 
The expression "born of water," in connection 
with new birth, is taken by ritualists as teaching 
regeneration by baptism, so that thanks are 
given after the baptism of a child that it has 
been regenerated; that by it he is "made a 
member of Christ and an inheritor of the king- 
dom of heaven." But water cannot do this. The 
Baptist said: " I baptize you with water unto re- 



The Laver 459 

pentance;" but the Mightier than John was coming, 
11 He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and 
with fire." There is the reality. " Born of water," 
in John 3, no more means baptismal regeneration 
than the eating Christ's flesh and drinking His 
blood in the 6th chapter means transubstantia- 
tion in the Lord's Supper. 

What does * "water" mean ? In Titus 3 : 4, 5, we 
read: " But after that the kindness and love of 
God our Saviour toward man appeared, not by 
works of righteousness which we have done, but 
according to His mercy He saved us, by the 
washing (laver is the word) of regeneration, and 
renewing of the Holy Ghost." It is in contrast 
to the old nature, of which the Lord speaks in 
the 3d of John: " That which is born of the flesh 
is flesh." The passage in John speaks of new 
birth, and so does that in Titus. In 1 Peter 1 : 
22, 23, the instrument used in new birth is men- 
tioned: " Being born again, not of corruptible 
seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, 
which liveth and abideth forever." The word of 
God then is the instrument used in new birth. 
It brings conviction to the sinner and points him 
to Christ. "So then faith cometh by hearing, 
and hearing by the word of God " (Rom. 10: 17). 

In James 1 : 8 we find the same truth reiterated: 
" Of His own will begat He us with the word of 
truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of 
His creatures." The sovereign will of God has 



460 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

wrought in our new birth; but how? By "the 
word of truth." 

Cleansing with water is shown us in i Cor. 
6\ 9-1 1. where an awful enumeration of sins is 
given — an awful picture of what man is. Then 
he goes on to say. 4 'And such were some of you: 
but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye 
are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and 
by the Spirit of our God." These once defiled 
Corinthians had been born again. There had 
been a twofold action, both parts of which are 
spoken of in this verse: "Ye are washed ... ye 
are sanctified . . by the Spirit of our God." 
These are by the new birth, in which a clean 
nature is imparted, produced by the Holy Spirit 
using the word of God. Then, to show the two 
things are not separated from each other, we 
have, "But ye are justified in the name of our 
Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." Sanc- 
tification or cleansing is thus indissolubly con- 
nected with the justification which is through 
the name of our Lord Jesus. 

These scriptures prepare us to look at what 
should leave no question as to what the water in 
the laver means. We have it in Eph. 5: 25-27. 
Profound truths are often brought out in appar- 
ently very common-place though important con- 
nections. In connection with the love of hus- 
bands to their wives is declared a most wondrous 
mystery: Christ giving Himself for the Church 



The Laver 461 

in order that He might cleanse it. Notice how 
He does it. It is not here the cleansing by the 
blood which gives title to stand before God in 
removing all guilt between the conscience and 
God — but the cleansing spoken of here is the 
inherent cleansing: "That He might sanctify 
and cleanse it with the washing of water by the 
Word." He loved the Church; He gave Him^ 
self for it, now to sanctify and cleanse it with 
the washing of water by the Word. Water, then, 
is the Word as the instrument used by the Lord. 

Gathering up these several scriptures, we find, 
first, in John 3, that new birth is a necessity; 
second, in Titus 3, that this new birth is " by the 
washing of regeneration and renewing of the 
Holy Ghost; " third, in 1 Peter 1, the new birth is 
by the word of God as the instrumentality; fourth, 
in James 1, the same truth is repeated in connec- 
tion with the sovereign will of God. Then, in 
1 Cor. 6, we learn that those who once were de- 
filed, and in corruption, were cleansed and sanc- 
tified by the Spirit of God in connection with 
justification, through the name of Jesus; and, 
lastly, that our blessed Saviour died for this 
very purpose, to sanctify and cleanse His Church 
"with the washing of water by the Word." 
Therefore, the laver speaks to us unquestionably 
of Christ as the Cleanser of His people through 
His Word, used by His Spirit. 

There was a twofold use for the laver. First, 



462 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

for cleansing at consecration — a complete wash 
ing, once for all. That answers to the new birth, 
of which we have been speaking. Then it was 
used for the daily cleansing of the priests in their 
ministration at the tabernacle and altar. 

Hebrews 10 : 19-22 strikingly connects the clean- 
sing by blood and the washing by water to- 
gether. First the conscience is purged by the 
blood; then he adds, " our bodies washed with 
pure water M — that is washed all over, as the 
priests — typically, born again by the word of 
God. The whole man being cleansed, a new 
nature given, we can draw near to God with the 
confidence of children. 

We have been looking at the laver in connec- 
tion with new birth; let us now look at the daily 
cleansing which is necessary for communion. It 
is the privilege of the believer not to sin, as 
1 John 2: 1 teaches. But if a believer, through 
carelessness or self-sufficiency, has fallen into 
sin, what recovery is there for him ? To be born 
again, he needs not. New birth is only once, 
never repeated. But "If any man sin " — note 
the occasion — "we have an advocate with the 
Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." No sin in 
Him, He is righteous; and "with the Father" 
maintaining that blessed relationship in our be- 
half. We may need His correction; but, thank 
God, He maintains our place as children with 
the Father. 



The Laver 463 

A beautiful unfolding of this action of washing 
— washing by the Word — we have in the 13th 
chapter of John's Gospel, where our Lord washes 
His disciples' feet. In chapter 15, speaking to 
His disciples, He says: "Now ye are clean 
through the word which I have spoken unto you " 
— they had been cleansed by receiving His word. 
Then in chap. 17 He prays: "Sanctify them 
through Thy truth: Thy word is truth." This 
sanctifying from the evil that is in the world, 
then, is by the Spirit of God applying the Word 
to us and keeping us day by day. 

At the last supper with His disciples, that He 
might maintain them in communion with Him- 
self, as is typified in the table, our Lord lays 
aside His garment, just as He laid aside His 
glory that He might serve His people ; then He 
girds Himself with the linen towel, takes a basin 
with water and goes to each of the disciples to 
wash his feet. What a lowly act of grace ! 

This washing of the feet is for the cleansing 
from any defilement that we may have gathered 
in our walk through this world. There may be 
no outward failure : it may be only inward, or 
even the lack of that spiritual vigor that would 
keep us in spirit unspotted from the world. The 
priest was not supposed to have failed exactly 
when he washed his hands and feet before offer- 
ing the sacrifices or entering the tabernacle. But 
it reminded him that he was in a scene where 



464 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

the dust and defilement gathered imperceptibly 
and so he had constantly to apply the water. 
Thus the scene in John 13 does not mean some 
glaring failure — mud, if I may use the expres- 
sion — but that which comes in to hinder full 
communion with our Lord. Just as the cares of 
this world, the deceitfulness of riches, or the lust 
of other things can choke the Word, so, in the 
believer, household cares, daily duties, business 
affairs, yea, even Christian service, may be al- 
lowed to practically mar communion with the 
Lord. Let any one beware how he takes for 
granted that communion goes on undisturbed 
without submission to this action of our Lord — 
washing the feet constantly! One may have 
been preaching the gospel or ministering to his 
brethren, yet if he has not gone to the Lord for 
the practical cleansing — as from pride, self- 
sufficiency, self-complacency, etc. — he will find 
some iniquity connected with his holy things, 
that he has gathered defilement even in Chris- 
tian service. 

What a world it is, where we can gather de- 
filement even in service: rather may we say, 
what hearts are ours that they need this ac- 
tion of the holy Word even in connection with 
the Lord's service ! Peter knew not this need. 
He thought himself especially devoted to his 
Lord, though he was about to deny Him. "Lord," 
he says (and he thinks of the dignity of the Lord 



The Laver 465 

whom he loved), " dost Thou wash my feet?" 
— such as Thou to take the servant's place and 
cleanse my feet< The Lord says: "What I do 
thou knowest not now ; but thou shalt know here- 
after." How true that is in many ways, "Thou 
shalt know hereafter." To Peter's objection the 
Lord answers: " If I wash thee not, thou hast 
no part with Me " — not, no part in salvation, but 
in communion, in fellowship. 

Going to the other extreme, Peter answers: 
" Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and 
my head " — as if he needed cleansing through- 
out. Our Lord's answer is most significant: "He 
that is washed " (literally, " He that is bathed" 
as the priest was washed all over at the laver in 
the day of his consecration, which answers to 
new birth) — "He that is bathed, needeth not 
save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit " 
— clean every whit by new birth, and fit for the 
presence of God; but the feet, which come in 
contact with the earth, need the daily cleansing. 
And this cleansing is carried on, as we see in the 
last chapter of John's Gospel, after the resurrec- 
tion, when three times the Lord brings up the 
memory of Peter's denial, thoroughly to deliver 
him from his vain boast: "Although all shall 
be offended, yet will not I." The Lord cleanses 
away all that pride and self-confidence, and Peter, 
a cleansed man, casts himself on the Lord with 
these words: "Lord. Thou knowest all things; 



466 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

Thou knowest that I love Thee ; " and Jesus saith 
to him: "Feed My sheep." 

Who is it that can minister to the saints, that 
can wash his brother's feet, that can minister as 
Christ ministered ? It is he who knows the ac- 
tion of the Word in practical cleansing for him- 
self, as the Lord said to Peter: "When thou 
art converted, strengthen thy brethren." 

There is one contrast between the cleansing 
at the laver and the action of John 13. The priests 
were to wash their hands as well as their feet at 
the laver, but our Lord washed only the disciples' 
feet. The hands are suggestive of working, as 
works are the law's demand. But our place as 
Christians is * 'not by works of righteousness which 
we have done." It is the feet, our ways, which 
need constantly to be cleansed by the word of 
God, through the advocacy of Christ our Lord 
and the ministry of the Holy Ghost. But the 
walk includes the entire earthly life of the be- 
liever. There must be no distinction made 
between our service and our path. This is per- 
fectly clear. The only thought is to guard 
against any idea of legal obedience, which would 
be suggested by the washing of the hands. The 
entire life, even to thoughts and desires, is to 
come under the cleansing of the Word. 

In 1 Cor. 11: 28 we read: "Let a man examine 
(or judge) himself, and so let him eat of that 
bread and drink of that cup." And again He says 



The Laver 467 

(vers. 31,32): " If we would judge ourselves, we 
should not be judged. But when we are judged, 
we are chastened of the Lord, that we should 
not be condemned with the world." That is, if 
we are to partake aright of the Lord's Supper, it 
must be in self-judgment; we must let the light 
of His Word search and cleanse our ways. How 
constantly we should be before the Lord that 
He may search us, that nothing of a defiling 
character may be clinging to us as we come to 
His table, nor hinder His favor and blessing in 
our daily life. 

In Gal. 6: 1 this is applied to our mutual re- 
lationships: "Brethren, if a man be overtaken 
in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an 
one in the spirit of meekness; considering thy- 
self, lest thou also be tempted." Here we have 
to do with one another in brotherly love and 
care. Our business is not to talk to others about 
his fault, nor in self-satisfaction to thank God 
that we have not fallen into it; but in the spirit 
of lowliness, realizing that we too may be tempted, 
and if in his position might have done the same 
thing, go and seek to restore him to his Lord — 
that he may have it all out between his soul and 
the Lord ; then we may be sure that communion 
is restored. This is true washing of one another's 
feet. 

There is a beautiful example of this washing 
of the saints' feet in James. He says: "Confess 



468 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

your faults one to another, and pray one for an- 
other, that ye may be healed " (Jas. 5 : 16). This 
is not to be busybodies in other men's mat- 
ters, nor to take up things which do not concern 
us, but a godly concern to secure communion 
with the Lord for His people. It is not demand- 
ing confession, as the priest, that others confess 
to him; but in brotherly and mutual confidence, 
confessing your faults one to another, and pray- 
ing one for another that ye may be healed. 

If the laver as a whole suggests the person of 
Christ, and the water in it the whole word of 
God, what would the smaller vessel at the foot of 
the laver suggest ? I believe Eph. 6:17 tells us: 
" Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of 
the Spirit, which is the word (literally, the say- 
ing) of God:" not the word of God generally, 
but " the saying of God; " that is, the word that 
applies, the word spoken in due season. It is not 
the whole Bible we are to bring to the brother, 
but the needed word applying to his actual con- 
dition. This needs wisdom and the Spirit's guid- 
ance to bring the right word, that it may cleanse 
and help. 

And in this connection, how important it is 
that we should read the Word and feed upon it. 
How shall the Spirit of God use it for our cleans- 
ing and upbuilding, or how can we use it to the 
help and blessing of others, if we are not really 
acquainted with it ? If we are to know the word 



The Laver 469 

of God, there must be something like system in 
the way we read it, just as there is in the way 
we take our ordinary food. Mere desultory read- 
ing of favorite passages, skipping from point to 
point, while helpful in some ways, will not thor- 
oughly furnish us. Let not a day pass without 
careful, prayerful reading of our regular portion. 
This may be long or short, as time permits, but 
it should be consecutive. Nor should we ignore 
those portions which to us may be more obscure 
— as the prophets, for instance. Let us become 
thoroughly acquainted with the entire contents 
of Scripture. 

Does this seem like an impossible task ? Let 
us then remember the encouragement: "To 
him that hath shall more be given." A habit 
formed of utilizing, if it be but a few moments 
of the morning and evening, will give us, 
during the course of a year, a fairly general 
knowledge of God's word. More than that, it 
will beget in us an appetite for more. We shall 
find increasing capacity to enter into the large 
and blessed fields that will open before us. That 
which we have gathered in the morning hour will 
be food for mind and heart during the day; and 
how much of the flesh, which still lurks unsus- 
pected in our ways, will gradually be disclosed, 
as we are able to bear it. Thus, we shall have 
put at the disposal of the Lord an abundance of 
" water " to cleanse our ways. 



470 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

We have been speaking of practical sanctifica- 
tion — of cleansing; let us now look at another 
passage which at one glance gives us the blessed 
truth of sanctification in a somewhat different 
way, and yet closely connected with all that we 
have been dwelling upon. It is in 2 Cor. 3: 18: 
" Beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, 
are changed into the same image." The word, 
"Beholding as in a glass," is taking a full length 
view, we might say, not of our own image in the 
mirror, but beholding the glory of the Lord. 
The veil has been taken away; the glory of God 
is shining in the blessed face of Christ on high 
as our precursor there. Gaze upon that; take a 
full length view of Christ in glory, and as you 
are occupied with Him there, what shall be the 
effect of it? Oh, blessed effect: human pride 
gives place for the glories of Christ; and as we 
behold Him, we are "changed into the same im- 
age, from glory to glory." 

Lastly, in Rev. 15: 2, 3 we read: "And I saw 
as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and 
them that had gotten the victory over the Beast, 
and over his image, and over his mark, and 
over the number of his name, stand on the sea 
of glass, having the harps of God. And they 
sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and 
the song of the Lamb. " 

Here we are permitted to look into the glory. 
There, in the heavenly sanctuary, is the throne 



The Laver 471 

of God and of the Lamb, as the ark was in the 
tabernacle. The hidden manna is there, answer- 
ing to the table of showbread. The seven Spirits 
of God are before the throne, answering to the 
candlestick; and the sea of glass, answering to 
that in Solomon's temple. Notice it is not now 
the laver filled with water — no need to remove 
defilement there ; it is a sea of transparent glass, 
reminding us of the laver which has accom- 
plished its work here. When all the redeemed 
of God are gathered there, the day of cleansing 
from defilement is over: no more need to wash 
one another's feet; no more need for the Lord's 
washing our feet, but there we stand with harps 
of God in our hands, nothing to hinder praise and 
worship. But the sea of glass, the witness and 
perpetual reminder of our cleansing, will flash 
forth there a continual remembrance of our 
Lord's gracious and humble service throughout 
our journey here. 



LECTURE XIX 

The Court 

(Ex. 38:9-20.) 

THE court was that enclosure, formed by the 
linen curtains which surrounded the taber- 
nacle. Its length, running east and west, was 
ioo cubits, and its breadth 50 cubits. On the 
east side was an opening, or "gate," of 20 cubits, 
in the middle, leaving 15 cubits of linen curtains 
on either side. 

These hangings, which formed the court, were 
of fine linen, 5 cubits high, and the total length 
280 cubits, not counting the gate, which was of 
a special pattern. These hangings were sus- 
pended from silver "fillets" and hooks, as they 
are called in our version. The word for " fillets " 
is also rendered "connecting rods," which is 
probably correct ; that is, each of these pillars 
had a " chapiter," or capital, of silver upon it and 
a rod passing from one to the other, uniting them 
steadfastly together. 

As to the pillars, there is no distinct mention 
of their material, unless it be of copper. In the 
direction given in chapter 27: 10, it says the pil- 
lars and their sockets were to be of brass.* This 

* While our Authorized Version renders it thus, there is no 









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The Court 473 

has been objected to, as rendering the pillars 
extremely heavy; and, from the fact also that 70 
talents — the amount spoken of in chapter 38: 29 
for things of copper — would be insufficient to 
make such pillars. But we have not sufficient data 
to form a conclusion. There is significance, how- 
ever, in the fact that no mention is made of 
the acacia wood, as is usual wherever it is un- 
questionably used. Therefore, whether the pil- 
lars were made of the wood which is unmen- 
tioned, or, of copper, hollow, as such pillars are 
made, the copper of their foundations, or sockets, 
alone is that which is before us: the pillars them- 
selves are lost sight of, except as resting upon 
the sockets. 

Mention also is made, without detailed descrip- 
tion, of pins of copper, both for the tabernacle 
and the court; these were doubtless for bracing 
the pillars, as the " stakes " in a tent. 

The spiritual significance of these things now 
claims our attention. We have, then, an enclos- 
ure, the " court," for the house of God: His 
dwelling-place is thus separated from the world 
around. I think we shall have no difficulty in 
seeing that this enclosure is formed by the Lord's 
people, who are practically the line of demarca* 
tion in this world between all which is of God and 

verb in the original, and the modifying clause "of brass M 
might refer to the sockets alone. Keil takes it for granted that 
the pillars were of acacia wood. 



474 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

that which is not of Him. First, we will look at 
the material of the hangings, the fine linen. We 
have already had its significance in the descrip- 
tion of the inner curtain of the tabernacle. 
Therefore, we need not go again into minute 
detail. It is sufficient to remember that the 
linen speaks to us of the spotless purity of the 
life, including the thoughts as well as the acts 
and words. 

The length of these hangings was the same 
as that of the curtains in the inner covering of 
the tabernacle. There were 10 curtains, each 
of them 28 cubits in length, or 280 cubits in all. 
This would remind us that God's standard for 
practical holiness is always one. He has not two 
standards, as we oftentimes have: one for our- 
selves, perhaps, and another for others. God 
abhors divers weights and measures. When He 
measures human righteousness, He does so by 
one standard, absolute perfection, which we find 
expressed in the ten commandments, a number 
of frequent occurrence in the description of the 
court. Ten is the number of responsibility, both 
Godward and manward. Who has met such re- 
sponsibility as this ? We read in Rev. 19: 8 that 
fine linen is the righteousnesses of saints — their 
righteous acts. The linen in this way speaks of 
a perfect, spotless, human righteousness. The 
time is coming, thank God, when His saints will 
be manifested absolutely and perfectly in spot- 



The Court 475 

less linen. Their actions, of faith and love, the 
fruit of divine grace, will be manifested in glory, 
and we shall be like Christ. But if we speak of 
ourselves, of our righteousness, even of saved 
men, is it such as that I have described, that 
fully measures up to the standard of divine re- 
quirement ? Speaking for the nation at large, as 
well as for himself, Isaiah says: " Thou meetest 
him that rejoiceth and worketh righteousness, 
those that remember Thee in Thy ways:" that 
is, God meets man if He can meet him in right- 
eousness. "Behold, Thou art wroth; for we 
have sinned." That is how He finds man. " But 
we are all as an unclean thing, and all our right- 
eousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade 
as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have 
taken us away" (chap. 64: 5, 6). Here is a con- 
fession of what man is in himself, a confession 
that each one of us could join in absolutely if we 
look at what we are apart from Christ. The very 
best that we have is unfit for the presence of 
God. 

But turning from self we find in our Lord the 
full measure of God's standard of righteousness. 
In 1 John 3: 5 we read: " Ye know that He was 
manifested to take away our sins, and in Him is 
no sin." Very strikingly we have the two things 
thus put side by side. The passage we had from 
Isaiah bears witness to our sin : our best things 
being "as filthy rags" before God ; or, we are 



476 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

like Joshua the high priest, clothed with filthy- 
garments unfit for priestly service in the pres- 
sence of God. But here is One who was mani- 
fested to take away our sins, "and in Him is no 
sift." That is the first great truth as to these 
hangings — the spotless, absolute holiness of our 
Lord. There is the fine linen, 280 cubits (7x40, 
perfection manifested by testing), the full meas- 
ure of God's requirement, which forms the most 
effectual witness, and the perfect barrier be- 
tween all the sin of the world and the sacred 
enclosure where God manifests Himself. 

But we have something more than that. Right- 
eousness is God's standard for His saints, and 
in this very epistle of John we pass from the 
spotless purity of Christ to what is imparted 
at new birth as well: "As He is, so are we 
in this world" (1 Jno. 4: 17). This is sometimes 
taken as our absolute acceptance in Christ as 
our Representative; but it is something more 
than that. John's epistle is not occupied largely 
with the work of Christ for us, but rather with 
the work of grace in us by new birth which pro- 
duces moral likeness to Christ. Knowing His 
love, believing it, having received it, we have 
been born of God, and thus the very nature, the 
very holiness of Christ, is wrought in us by the 
power of the Holy Spirit: "As He is, so are we 
in this world." 

In 1 John 3 : 2 we have the future, unquestion- 



The Court 477 

ably: ''When He shall appear we shall be like 
Him, for we shall see Him as He is." We could 
not expect to see Him unless we were morally 
fit for such a vision, as we read in John's Gospel: 
" Except a man be born again, he cannot see the 
kingdom of God." There must be a moral like- 
ness to God if we are to see Him; as we read in 
Hebrews 1 2 : " Follow peace . . . and holiness with- 
out which no man shall see the Lord." " Behold, 
what manner of love the Father hath bestowed 
upon us, that we should be called the children of 
God." That is what we are in this world, chil- 
dren of God. Now we are that, though it does 
not yet appear what we shall be, only when 
Christ in glory is manifested in all the spotless 
purity of His human nature, "we shall be like 
Him, for we shall see Him as He is." 

Notice what directly connects with this, in the 
3rd verse: "And every man that hath this hope 
in Him, purifieth himself even as He is pure." 
We look at the spotless, linen curtains, and we 
say, " In Him is no sin." Then we say, "As He 
is, so are we in this world." We have a nature 
which is capable of holiness even here. We look 
further and see the time is coming when we who 
are now the children of God shall be like Him, 
"for we shall s^e Him as He is." Lastly, if we have 
this hope in Christ, it produces practical right- 
eousness now; we seek to keep our garments un- 
spotted from the world, in this present life. 



478 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

In this same epistle (chap. 2: 6), we have the 
measure of this present effect: " He that saith 
he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk, 
even as He walked." How often persons say: 
" I know we are to be holy, but you cannot ex- 
pect us to be perfectly holy." For instance, 
when that verse is quoted: " I can do all things 
through Christ which strengtheneth me," some 
one replies, " But that was Paul," as though we 
could not possibly expect to be like Paul. But 
this scripture goes even further. We are not 
only to be as Paul, but we are left here to be like 
Christ Himself; and if you look at this verse you 
w r ill see there is no limitation short of that. The 
measure for our walk is what Christ was here. 
God abhors divers measures. He does not meas- 
ure His blessed Son's walk by one standard and 
His people's walk by another. He has pity and 
compassion upon us; He has grace to pardon our 
sins, mercy to succor us in our weakness; but 
His holiness will not allow Him to abate one 
single iota of the full measure of the perfect 
standard of holiness which has been marked out 
for us in the walk of our blessed Lord Jesus. 

Does this seem hard ? Does it appal us ? Do 
we shrink from it ? Would you dare to wish any 
lower standard than this ? — that God should make 
a standard for us to walk less holily, less devo- 
tedly than Christ ? Would you like some meas- 
ure of sin, of selfishness to be spare d ? If you 



The Court 479 

came to an expression, as from God's word, say- 
ing, as unbelief often says in the heart, It makes 
not so much difference if you are not perfectly 
holy, would there not be a shock in your bosom ? 
Would you not say, This surely is the work of 
the enemy sowing some wretched poison in the 
midst of divine truth ! We know there can be 
only one standard — Christ; and He has left us 
an example that we should follow in His steps, 
or as we have it here: "He that saith he 
abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk, 
even as He walked." Thus the full measure of 
the curtains is measured for us by Christ; He is 
God's only standard. 

We have been looking at the length of these 
curtains. Suppose God had given a shorter 
measure than 280 cubits, what would it have re- 
sulted in ? A court without sufficient protection. 
There would have been gaps, and God's holy 
presence would not have been isolated from the 
outside world. So now; if there were not this 
full standard of perfect holiness, as seen in 
Christ, and to be manifested in His people, God 
would be thought of as less holy, less separate 
from sinful man. The same truth is brought out 
in the height of the curtains. They were five 
cubits high, the number of responsibility, par- 
ticularly manward, as Christ measured up fully 
to God's requirement of man, and is the standard 
He has set for us. 



480 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

Having seen, I trust to our full conviction, 
the fact that we must have in our walk that 
which corresponds to Christ's walk if we are to 
answer to God's thought, we will look at a few 
scriptures which bring out this holiness in the 
believer. 

In the 6th chapter of Daniel we see him in 
the midst of a hostile court, surrounded by per- 
sons who, envious of his position, desired to 
taint his character before the king, and thus 
bring him into disgrace. Here, we may say, is 
the spotless linen curtain, God's character ex- 
pressed in Daniel, and against him a world at 
enmity with God. They desire to bring him into 
disgrace. How are they going to do it ? Of dis- 
honesty, of injustice, or neglect of duty, they 
can bring no charge against the man who stood 
out in his white, spotless character. He is the 
object of their enmity; yet, no doubt, with silent 
admiration of envy which can find no occasion of 
fault in him. So they turn to the law of his God, 
which militates against the king's will, as the 
only way they can find accusation against him. 
Oh that it were true of us as it was of Daniel, 
that it were impossible to put the finger upon a 
single inconsistency in our walk or lives; that 
the only points in which we come in collision 
with the world were in our loyalty and devoted- 
ness to Christ, which stirs enmity in the heart 
that is unreconciled to God. 



The Court 481 

In Daniel, then, we see God's measure hang- 
ing between the world outside and a blameless 
and spotless life ; or, as we have it in Phil. 
2: 14-16, a testimony before the world to which 
there can be no gainsaying. How good it is 
when the world can see nothing but the white 
linen as it looks upon the children of God — see 
the image of Christ reflected in their daily life ! 

We have an added thought to this in James 1 : 
27. It is not just what the fine linen is in itself 
that we see there, but as guarding from defile- 
ment. We have our outward connections with 
the world ; our various responsibilities and labor 
bring us into connection with it, and our gar- 
ments are to be kept unspotted from it; as Jude 
says: " Hating even the garment spotted by the 
flesh," and as we are advised in Ecclesiastes : "Let 
thy garments be always white." The Lord's word 
to Sardis also, where lethargy in general prevailed, 
was: "Thou hast a few names, even in Sardis, 
which have not defiled their garments; and they 
shall walk with Me in white : for they are worthy. " 

White linen, then, is to be the character of 
our walk in our relation to the world. Sometimes 
people say: It is a good thing when men speak 
evil against you. The Lord Jesus said: *• Blessed 
are ye when men shall say all manner of evil 
against you." Yes, He did, with the added 
word, "falsely, for My sake." If it is for Christ's 
sake and falsely, we can bless God for it; but let 



482 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

us see to it that it is not because the garment is 
spotted by the flesh — to our shame, and misrep- 
resentation of our blessed Lord. How we should 
shrink from the very thought of misrepresenting 
Him in a world which already hates Him so 
much! 

In the same line with this is i Pet. 4: 14: "If 
ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy 
are ye ; for the Spirit of glory and of God resteth 
upon you: on their part He is evil spoken of, 
but on your part He is glorified." How good it 
is when Christians can be so described! God 
spoken evil of by His enemies, but by His peo- 
ple, in their walk and conversation, glorified! 
The next verse shows how there is to be nothing 
of soil upon the garment. " But let none of you 
suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evil- 
doer, or as a busybody in other men's matters." 
The perfect standard of holiness has been set 
for us by Christ in His life. Let us make no 
other standard. Not a day passes, surely, but 
that we need to go in confession to our God and 
wash at the laver; but let nothing lower the 
standard for us. Let us not make provision for 
the flesh to fulfil the lusts thereof. Our stand- 
ard is Christ; let us walk in His steps. 

We come next to a very precious line of truth 
suggested in the hooks and capitals, and "fillets," 
or connecting rods. The curtains were suspended 
from the silver hooks and connecting rods. The 



The Court 483 

pillars themselves stood upon the solid copper 
foundation, but the top of the pillar was encir- 
cled with a silver crown. Silver points to redemp- 
tion, the great truth of our having been pur- 
chased by the precious blood of Christ. Let us 
remember there can be no holy walk apart from 
redemption. The pillars with silver capitals 
point us to Christ crowned with the redemption 
which He has wrought for us; and the hooks 
with the connecting rods passing from one to an- 
other, holding all firm, speak of redemption, 
from which depends the holy walk which is to 
glorify God. To stand in our own strength and 
walk as Christ walked is as impossible for us as 
to create a world. Our walk must depend, not 
upon our strength or character, but upon the 
redemption of Christ, as absolutely as the cur- 
tains hung from the silver hooks and connecting 
rods. Those curtains were dependent from sil- 
ver, and our walk is dependent on the redemp- 
tion of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

A few scriptures will bring this out very clearly. 
In i Pet. i: 2 we read: " Elect according to the 
foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanc- 
tification of the Spirit, unto obedience " (there is 
the fine linen) "and sprinkling of the blood of 
Jesus Christ" (here are the silver hooks from 
which the fine linen is suspended). Obedience is 
connected with the sprinkled blood of Jesus 
Christ. It can flow from nothing else. 



484 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

A familiar passage in Titus declares this 
clearly: "For the grace of God that bringeth 
salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching tis 
that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we 
should live soberly, righteously and godly, in 
this present world " (Tit. 2: 11, 12). The apostle, 
in exhorting servants to be obedient, to be re- 
spectful, not to use their liberty in the house to 
purloin or steal little trifles, makes it an occasion 
to speak of this salvation of God and its effects. 
It is a word to us all, for we are all servants to 
God, and are to walk here in a way that will 
glorify God, or, as He says: "Adorn the doctrine 
of God our Saviour in all things." For the 
grace of God that brings salvation also teaches. 
It cannot teach us what holiness means until it 
has taught us what salvation is; but when sal- 
vation is known, then that grace teaches us to 
live here soberly as to ourselves, righteously in 
our relations with others, and godly in our rela- 
tions with God, and to be looking for the blessed 
hope, and the glorious appearing of our great God 
and Saviour. Then, in verse 14, he reminds us of 
this truth at which we are looking : * ' Who gave 
Himself for us that He might redeem us from all 
iniquity" (there are the silver rods) ; "and purify 
unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good 
works. " How beautifully the linen curtains thus 
are suspended from the hooks and rods of silver 
— from redemption. 



The Court 485 

The epistles to the Colossians and to the Ephe- 
sians markedly set this forth. First, they give 
the great basis of divine truth in connection with 
redemption, then dependent upon this the word 
as to our walk and testimony in the world. 

One passage, in Romans 8 : 3, 4, shows this 
strikingly also. It is especially significant be- 
cause we are shown there how impossible it is to 
have these linen curtains without their silver 
hooks and rods : i i For what the law could not do, 
in that it was weak through the flesh," etc. The 
law was powerless to produce a holy life in 
us; powerless to produce the walk which marked 
Christ down here. But "God, sending His own 
Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin " 
(as a sacrifice for it, in which we see the silver- 
gleam of redemption) "condemned sin in the 
flesh " — has set it aside ; that, in result, "the 
righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, 
who walk not after the flesh, but after the 
Spirit. ,, Divine righteousness, which could not 
secure anything from us by the law, has been so 
perfectly met by the sacrifice of Christ, that not 
only are we forgiven and saved, but also given 
power for the righteousness of life which God 
desires from His people. 

I will ask you for a moment to look at the pil- 
lars of the court. We have seen the material 
and the measurements of the hangings, which 
speak to us of the spotless purity of Christ as the 



486 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

standard for His people's walk and testimony in 
this world. The pillars rested upon the sockets 
of copper. The full emphasis is upon their foun- 
dation, on copper. 

As we have seen before, the copper speaks to 
us of stability in the divine character and pur- 
pose. He is Jehovah ; He changes not. His 
justice and truth, when applied to sinful man, 
means judgment; but in connection with our 
Lord, it meant that He perfectly manifested 
this in His whole walk and testimony down here. 
If I may use such an expression, our Lord took a 
firm stand for God on every side, like the pillars 
on the four sides of the court, which rested upon 
their copper bases. In His whole life, in every 
action, unswerving devotedness and divine right- 
eousness was exhibited in our Lord, from what- 
ever side we may look at Him. 

The south, as the south wind which blows 
softly, speaks of what is attractive in nature, of 
prosperity in the world. The north, of the dark, 
cold and cheerless side, of adversity; as we have 
it in the Song of Solomon: "Awake, O north 
wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my gar- 
den, that the spices thereof may flow out." That 
is, we have the varied experiences, of comfort 
on one hand, of affliction on the other; but all is 
to cause the spices, the fragrance of Christ, to 
flow forth in our lives. 

Look at our Lord Jesus on every side, in every 



The Court 487 

circumstance of His life here ; how absolutely 
firm and unyielding He stood for God! With us, 
alas, when prosperity comes in, or pleasure, or 
the smiles of this world, how the pillars of our 
testimony seem to be set upon the shifting 
sand! How often the people of God fail on the 
south side, on the prosperous side of life. On 
the other hand, if adversity comes in, tribulation, 
reproach for the truth, for Christ's sake, how 
often the saints of God faint when a faithful tes- 
timony should be maintained. Look at our Lord 
at the feast of Cana, or in the Pharisee's house, 
or in any other contact with men (He was no re- 
cluse, refusing to go where He was invited), 
what testimony for God was borne in every place ! 
How absolutely unyielding in every particular! 
When the dark clouds (as from the north) of 
desertion, of persecution, yea, of the cross itself 
came over Him, how He ever maintained the 
same stand for God. When His sun was, as it were, 
declining in the west, when the time was nearing 
for Him to leave this world, not one iota does He 
yield, " He steadfastly set His face to go:,to Je- 
rusalem. " And as He looked forward to the 
certainty of coming glory, as the sunrising, He 
maintained absolutely His testimony for divine 
truth and holiness. Thus, on every side, our 
Lord stood unswerving and firm as the pillars 
about the court. And this steadfastness is still 
maintained for us by Him, through His Word 



488 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

and Spirit; the dimensions of the court remain 
the same. 

I have spoken of Christ in His unswerving 
faithfulness and steadfastness as represented by 
the pillars around the court, and also as maintain- 
ing His, people here. I would now recall a quo- 
tation we have had already, how we are to "adorn 
the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things/' 
The pillars are around the court, but where is 
the linen which is to adorn them ? God has 
an absolutely perfect standard in Christ, but 
do we set forth what these linen curtains repre- 
sent ? Do we "adorn the doctrine of God our 
Saviour in all things ?" 

Let us look at a few scriptures that show how 
absolutely we must hang upon Him if we are to 
be sustained in this world, as the linen curtains 
for God's court. 

" Let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed 
lest he fall" (i Cor. 10: 12). That is true for all of 
us. We are not to think of ourselves as incapable 
of falling. Peter's history, and the history of 
thousands of God's people would show, alas, that 
when self-confidence comes in, " Pride goeth be- 
fore destruction, and a haughty spirit before a 
fall." Let us beware of self-confidence. Let us 
rather, as 1 Peter 1:17 exhorts us, "Pass the time 
of our sojourning here in fear." Sooner than 
we dream Satan will use our very confidence to 
trip us to our fall. How many of us, yea, can 



The Court 489 

any of us be sure to stand a single hour without 
falling? Where shall we find human steadfast- 
ness sufficient to maintain us from dishonor to 
our Lord ? God alone is " able to make us stand." 
Oh, to realize more and more that we have not 
strength to hold ourselves up a single moment, 
any more than those linen curtains, apart from 
the pillars. We must hang in faith upon our 
blessed Lord to be holden up. Thank God, we 
shall be holden up, for He is able to make us 
stand. 

Many of the passages we might look at in this 
connection have to do with our wilderness life 
rather than with our standing before God. Per- 
haps, as we have been dwelling upon the testi- 
mony in our life, some may feel the heart sink- 
ing, and say : "Who is sufficient for these things? " 
Let me ring out this precious assurance, then: 
"Kept by the power of God through faith unto 
salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time " 
(i Pet. i : 5) ; kept for the incorruptible inheri- 
tance reserved for us in heaven ; kept not by our 
own strength but by His power ; kept from 
yielding to temptation through the power of the 
enemy; kept through faith; laying hold of the 
silver hook and rod of salvation through our Lord 
Jesus Christ; and we may be sure that He who 
has given us this word will perform it. May we 
be kept from dishonoring Him through unbelief. 

Look at that faithful servant of Christ, Paul in 



490 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

Rome, upheld by the unyielding Pillar when all 
had forsaken him (2 Tim. 4: 16, 17). It is upon 
Christ we are to lean, not on an arm of flesh. If we 
lean upon our brethren, upon any human arm, no 
matter how strong it may seem, the time of testing 
will come. We must learn to stand leaning upon 
the Lord alone. We may counsel with one another, 
pray for one another, set an example to one an- 
other, but let us not depend upon man. It will 
surely prove a broken reed that will pierce the 
hand. The Lord stood with Paul, and He will 
stand with us; no matter what the circumstances, 
the pillar with its brazen socket (the sure word 
of God) will be there to uphold us. Those ever- 
lasting arms of redeeming love will maintain us 
in our walk and testimony in this world. If we 
look back with sorrow and shame to some season 
when we dishonored the Lord, when we did not 
maintain the spotless linen garment, was it when 
conscious of our weakness, when leaning on His 
arm ? Or was it not when we thought of our 
sufficiency, or leaned upon some human prop ? 
I am sure we never dishonor Him when we are 
trusting Him. 

Let us now look at the enclosure as a whole. 
It represents the people of God as answering to 
the walk of Christ, forming a practical enclosure 
in the world, where the people of God can be in 
happy fellowship and testimony for Him. How 



The Court 49t 

are they separated from the world ? They are 
not shut up in monasteries; no walls of stone are 
between them and the world, but like Enoch, 
their walk with God is their separation, while 
performing the duties of every-day life. Direc- 
tions for every relationship of life are given in 
the Epistles, but never a single word as to with- 
drawal from the ordinary vocations and employ- 
ments of life. So far from this, idleness or sel- 
fish isolation is condemned by the word of God. 
We are to live in the world, while not of it. The 
walk of believers, therefore, is what the linen 
curtains point to — that which separates them 
from the world. 

The apostle James brings this out in effect 
when he says: You talk of faith without works ; 
you say you are resting upon the blood of Christ 
for salvation, and you stand before God in all the 
value of Christ's perfection. Then show it by 
your works, by your life. The world will justly 
say, Give me a proof of it. Indeed, the salvation 
of God has a two-fold seal. The Godward side is: 
"The Lord knoweth them that are His;" He 
may see faith where the world cannot. But there 
is something the world can see — the white linen 
curtains; so the other side of the seal is: "Let 
every one that nameth the name of Christ de- 
part from iniquity." This is what the world can 
see. So James does not contradict Paul for a 
moment. Paul speaks of our entrance into the 



492 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

presence of God, and how God sees tis complete 
in Christ; but James speaks of our walk and 
testimony in the world, and he says: "Show me 
thy faith without thy works" if you can; " I will 
show thee my faith by ray works/' We are justi- 
fied before God by faith without works; before 
the world we are justified by works which mani- 
fest that faith. Our relation to the world is 
shown by our walk and testimony. 

But this forms a complete barrier, so that the 
world cannot pass into the company of God's 
people. How is it then that false professors are 
in Christendom to-day ? It is while men slept 
that the enemy came and sowed tares. It was 
while there was carelessness or indifference as to 
the honor of the Lord that Satan got false pro- 
fessors into the court. It is ever carelessness or 
indifference which allows mere professors to in- 
trude amongst the people of God. 

In Acts, chap. 5, the holiness which is to sur- 
round the house of God, as the white curtains 
around the tabernacle, is exemplified in the deal- 
ings with Ananias' and Sapphira's dreadful sin. 
The court of the Lord was purged of what had 
defiled it. The fine linen was cleansed, as it 
were, and the barrier which shut in the people 
of God from the outside world was made mani- 
fest. "Of the rest durst no man join himself to 
them." Great fear fell upon all. They realized 
that they dare not intrude in such a holy Pres- 



The Court 493 

ence for fear of divine judgment falling upon 
them. The reality of the testimony in the Church 
was unmistakable; it excluded evil. 

What will maintain the purity of the Church 
of Christ ? We are not to be surmising evil 
where it is not manifest; but if there is a godly 
life and testimony, the world will not dare join 
itself to such a company. 

Lastly, we come to the gate. Thank God, 
there is only one gate. But it is not a com- 
pany, amongst whom it may be difficult to enter. 
The materials of the gate are the same as 
those of the curtain — they speak of Christ. He 
is the Door; by Him "if any man enter in, 
he shall be saved, and shall go in and out and 
find pasture." 

This hanging, forming the gate or entrance, was 
also suspended upon silver hooks, showing us 
that it is the gospel of Christ which we are to 
hold up in our testimony as the way for people 
to come in from the world among the professed 
people of God. Enter in by Christ, and you are 
saved. No one dare to enter the court of the 
tabernacle in any other way than by the gate. 
" I am the Door," not a door, as if there were 
others; but " I am the Door; " "I am the Way/ 8 
the only way. Conceive for a moment of one 
daring to lift up the curtain on the side and sli> 
into the court. He would be a thief and a rob- 



494 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

ber and dealt with as such, put outside of the 
court in judgment. No one can rightly enter 
amongst the company of God's people unless by 
Christ. One may say, " I am a child of Christian 
parents; have not I a right to be amongst God's 
people?" Well, the Pharisees said: "We have 
Abraham to our father" — as a title to being God's 
people ; but the faith and works of their father 
were not in them; and their claims are refused. 
" Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repent- 
ance" says the Baptist to them, "and think not 
to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to 
our Father," etc. (Matt. 3: 7-10). 

The blessing of being a child of Christian par- 
ents is an inestimable one. The privilege of a 
Christian home is a precious one. The teaching 
and example of a godly parent to his child is a 
precious heritage, but it does not save. The 
parent can point the way of salvation, but the 
child must come in through the gateway, which 
is Christ. Have you entered by the Door ? Have 
you come in by Christ ? Are you amongst God's 
people, not by mere profession, but have you come 
as a poor sinner, with nothing of your own, and 
accepted Christ Jesus and entered by the wide 
open Way ? 

The gate was twenty cubits wide — wide open 
for every one who would come in. God's invita- 
tion to every one is to enter in now y by faith in 
the Lord Jesus, to be welcomed not only among 



The Court 495 

the company of God's people, but to find salva- 
tion, eternal life now, and glory in a little while. 

As we tarry at the gate, we would echo the 
invitation : 

"Let him that is athirst come. And whosoever 
will, let him take the water of life freely " (Rev. 
22: 17). 

Jesus Christ says: 

' ' Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast 
out." 



w 



LECTURE XX 

The Way of Approach to God 

(Lev. 16: 1-22.) 

E have now gone through the entire taber- 
nacle. We might say that all the furniture 
could be divided into two parts: what are called 
the vessels of approach, and the vessels of dis- 
play. There are certain things which display what 
God is in Christ, as the table and the candle- 
stick; while there are others which are directly 
associated with approach to Him. It is striking 
that all the vessels of approach are in one 
straight line between the gate and the mercy- 
seat within the sanctuary. This line could be 
drawn from the gate, through the altar of burnt- 
offering, the brazen laver, through the hanging at 
the tabernacle entrance and the veil separating 
the Holy place from the Most holy, to the mercy- 
seat itself; and practically everything upon that 
straight line was to set forth in some manner 
the way of approach to God. Some things were 
not so primary as others; notably, the altar of 
incense, which might easily be considered as a 
vessel of display; and yet, even as to that, it had 
a place in connection with approach to God. 

There are two ways of looking at this straight 
line: from God's point of view, and from man's. 
Looking at it from God's point of view, we would 



The way of approach to God 497 

start from the mercy-seat, which is the throne of 
God — everything there speaking of divine right- 
eousness, majesty and glory. We would pass out 
through the veil, past the altar of incense, where 
worship as sweet incense was offered up to God ; 
out through the hanging at the door of the taber- 
nacle; past the laver where the washing took 
place ; past the altar of burnt-offering where sac- 
rifices were offered; and out through the gate. 

Let us now reverse that order, and begin where 
the sinner has to begin — from outside, and see 
how God in His grace has provided a way for him 
to draw near. 

There are three gateways which would seem 
to emphasize the thought of man's exclusion: the 
gate at the court, the hanging in front of the 
tabernacle, and the veil within. When sin had 
come into the world, our first parents were shut 
out from the presence of God; as soon as they 
heard His voice in the garden, nothing in Eden 
could enable them to stand in His presence. All 
their surroundings, which spoke of His goodness, 
could not hinder our guilty parents from hiding 
from His presence. Although they had endeavored 
to clothe themselves, they realized in a moment 
that their guilt rendered them unfit to stand be- 
fore God; and from that day to this man has 
been away from God. Why is it that men can 
talk freely about the world, its business and 
material progress ? They can even talk about 



498 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

moral things, questions of reform, etc., and do 
not hesitate to tell their minds about them; but 
the moment you speak of God, or Christ, the 
moment the truth and the holiness of God are 
directly presented, if the soul is estranged from 
God there is at once a shrinking back into si- 
lence. And the silence indicates a state of soul 
which says unto God, " Depart from us, for we 
desire not the knowledge of Thy ways." Even 
where the soul has been awakened, there is a 
sense that it cannot draw near to Him. When 
our Lord had done an act of grace for Peter and 
his companions in the miraculous draught of 
fishes, when they brought the boats to land, 
Peter fell down at Jesus' knees, saying: " Depart 
from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord." 

In order to know man's sinful condition, we do 
not need to know what is the record of his life. 
The proof of sin in man is that he is at home 
outside of God's presence, and absolutely unhappy 
in that presence — a proof that includes all men. 
We need not lay specific transgressions to men's 
charge. God, who knows the heart, alone can do 
that ; and He knows there is plenty in every man's 
life that, when the records are opened, will show 
much actual transgression. But that man is at 
a distance from God, none can dispute: the 
thought of God, as the psalmist says, gives him 
trouble. This is where God must find a man if 
He finds him at all. The apostle speaks of it in 



The way of approach to God 499 

that way. To saints in the assembly at Ephesus 
who had been Gentiles, he says: " Ye were . . . 
strangers from the covenants of promise, having 
no hope, and without God in the world." How 
did the creature become a stranger to the Crea- 
tor? There can be but one answer: Sin has 
come in and brought in alienation and distance 
from the God of goodness and love. But, thank 
God, it is just there that His grace begins. 

First of all, there is a gateway to the court, a 
way of access to God, of having a share with His 
people in the joys and blessings which He pro- 
vides. What is the way ? To use the imagery of 
the court, the way is not through the white cur- 
tains that are around it; but in their very centre 
is a broad gateway, twenty cubits wide, as the 
way of approach to the holy places. 

We have previously seen what the veil and the 
hanging at the entrance of the tabernacle mean. 
The gate has the same significance. They re- 
present Christ in the various characters of His 
Person; He is the One presented to the in- 
quiring soul who says, I would love to draw near 
to the courts of the Lord's house ; I would love 
to share with His people. How can I do so ? 
What attainments must I have to fit me for it ? 
And the answer is the broad invitation of the 
Lord Jesus Himself: " Come unto Me, all ye that 
labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you 
rest." Here is an invitation that meets man just 



500 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

where he is, in his place of distance ; it shows him 
God's way to draw near, through the gate — through 
Christ. There, facing the sinner, is the gateway: 
"I am the Door," says Christ, "by Me if any man 
enter in, he shall be saved; " and "him that Com- 
eth unto Me, I will in no wise cast out." 

That is the great truth of the first gateway — 
apart even, so far, from the understanding of the 
work of Christ. It is not necessary that one 
could explain just how Christ saves. It is not 
our knowledge that saves us; it is not how He 
does it; but the first great thing before a sinner 
is, "Christ Jesus came into the world to save 
sinners," and he as a sinner draws near through 
the gateway that is open wide for everyone that 
will come. Thus he finds himself, through faith, 
a member of the company of God's people, and 
able to enter into their joys, to understand some- 
thing of the happiness that fills their hearts — the 
happy company that is journeying on to glory, 
into the manifest presence of God. 

Here, alas, most people stop. They think this 
is all there is in our approach unto God — the 
knowledge of salvation through faith in the Lord 
Jesus; they go perhaps through life with little 
more knowledge than this. 

We can thank God for that much; for it is not 
the amount of our knowledge that saves, but the 
One in whom our faith is. Faith may not be 
yery clear or very strong, but if it is in the right 



The way of approach to God 501 

Object, if it has linked us with Christ, it puts us 
among the saved who have entered into His 
courts, and true praise will surely follow. 

But now that we are inside the court the first 
great lesson to be learned in the way of approach 
practically unto God is that of " the brazen altar. " 
Here we learn the ground of peace; how it is 
that we are welcome to God through Christ ; that 
what was so freely offered outside the gate has 
been so perfectly paid for inside, at the altar. 
Outside, it was a poor sinner, welcome to come 
in. Inside, we find the witness of the price that 
has been paid, that has opened wide the gate. 
This is the great truth of the altar, the truth of 
the cross of Christ. Well might we dwell upon it 
in its varied aspects as set forth in connection 
with its different sacrifices. It must suffice us 
here to say that it was at the cross that our Lord 
Jesus made atonement for sin. 

It might be asked by one who has come to Christ : 
How is it that my sins could be forgiven ? Here 
we find the divine answer: That on God's holy 
Lamb our iniquities were laid: that "His own 
self bare our sins in His own body on the tree; " 
that God dealt with Him in justice, pouring out 
upon Him the judgment that we deserved. As 
our hymn expresses it: 

"O Christ, what burdens bowed Thy head! 
Our load was laid on Theej 



502 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

Thou stoodest in the sinner's stead — 

To bear all ill for me. 
A victim led, Thy blood was shed ; 

Now there's no load for me." 

It is when the soul enters into the truth of the 
cross of Christ that it has solid, assured peace — 
not based upon experiences or attainments or 
knowledge, but a peace that rests upon the fin- 
ished work of Christ upon the cross. A touch of 
faith will save, but oh, what solid ground there 
is to stand upon as we know the truth of the 
brazen altar, the place where Christ settled every 
question between God and the sinner! 

There is a wonderful verse in Zechariah, ch. 6, 
"The counsel of peace shall be between them 
both. " The ' ' both " there are God and Christ, and 
the counsel of peace, the terms of peace, were 
made between the contracting parties : God, on the 
one hand, with all His holy righteous demands; 
and, on the other hand, the Surety, the Represen- 
tative of His sinful people. The chastisement of 
our peace was upon Him. God alone knew all that 
His holiness required; He knew what barrier 
there was between our souls and Himself; He 
meted out the full righteous requirements of His 
holiness upon our blessed Substitute, and we have 
our Lord's words as to it: " It is finished " — all 
that was needed to bring a guilty sinner into the 
presence of a holy God- he is forgiven, cleansed 
and fit for heaven. 



The way of approach to God 503 

I will ask you to notice a remarkable connec- 
tion between the truths of the altar and of the 
mercy-seat. We pass instantly, as I may say, from 
the altar of burnt-offering, which speaks of the 
Cross, into the very presence of God at the 
mercy-seat in the inner sanctuary. Let us turn 
to a passage in the Gospel (Matt. 27:46, 50, 51) 
which presents this to us in a very striking way. 
Here we have connected with our Lord's giving 
up His life on the cross (the brazen altar), the 
rending of the veil, that which separated God 
from man. The veil represented the flesh of 
Christ, as we know, which, in His spotless purity 
and perfection was a witness of the distance of 
all men from God. Compare men with Him ; it 
shows how absolutely they were away from God. 
You will remember that upon this inner veil 
were cherubim, which spoke of God's righteous- 
ness and judgment which bar the way to His pres- 
ence. So, practically, as long as Christ was here 
in flesh, He was the judicial veil between man 
and God. Here was One who had access into 
God's presence, who lived in the joy of that pres- 
ence, a witness that men are away from God and 
have no right to enter into the Divine presence. 
The life, and words, and works of our Lord proved 
how every one else was at an infinite distance 
from God. 

How all that is changed when we come to Cal- 
vary! There we see One who, Himself sinless, 



504 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

was '* made sin " for us — our iniquities being laid 
upon Him. God dealt with His holy Son as He 
should deal with an unholy, guilty sinner ; and 
when Divine Justice thus dealt with our Substi- 
tute it brought forth that fearful cry of anguish 
which has echoed from that day to this: " My 
God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me ! " 
Notice, that cry reaches the very throne of God: 
for, "the veil of the temple was rent in twain, 
from the top to the bottom. " Divine holiness and 
righteousness were fully satisfied; the separation 
between man and God — God in His infinite holi- 
ness, man in his unworthiness — is removed. The 
way into the presence of God is thus made mani- 
fest. Through the rent veil we can draw near 
into His presence. This is why we have spoken 
of the cross and the rent veil in closest connec- 
tion. The throne of judgment, which would have 
banished man into the outer darkness for ever, 
becomes the sinner's refuge, through the blood 
sprinkled upon and before the mercy-seat, show- 
ing that God's claim and the sinner's need are 
both fully met by the work of God's beloved Son 
on the cross. In what a place of nearness to God 
the Cross has brought us ! The line has reached 
from the poor sinner in his outside place to the 
very heart of God on His throne. Christ has 
opened the way, as Heb. 10: 19-22 plainly de- 
clares : the veil is rent, the sanctuary is open to us. 
Contrast this with what we have in the 16th of 



The way of approach to God 505 

Leviticus. You will remember that after the 
judgment had fallen upon Nadab and Abihu for 
offering strange fire to God, when they dared to 
approach Him in a way He had not provided, God 
warned Aaron himself that he could draw near 
to Him only once a year, for a short time within 
the veil. Typically, it showed how sin put man 
at a distance from God, and that the way into the 
holiest was not yet made manifest. Notice, too, 
how he was to draw near. Everything in the 
type was suggestive of Christ — except that in 
the shadow some things are in contrast.* The 
priest having laid aside his garments of glory 
and beauty, washed in water and clad from head 
to foot in spotless linen, emblematic of the purity 
of Christ, intensified the thought that the one 
approaching to God must be spotlessly clean. 
Then he entered with a cloud of incense ; and it 
is repeated again and again in connection with 
these things, * * that he die not. " To draw near to 
God in any other way would have meant certain 
death: the cloud of incense concealed him, as it 
were, as God looked upon the incense. Thus God 
smells a sweet fragrance of Christ's infinite pre- 
ciousness while we draw near. 

* Aaron, in having to offer a sin-offering for himself, fails to 
be a type of Christ, save by contrast. Christ had no need to 
offer for Himself, spotless and holy as He was. Aaron and all 
men had to offer an offering before they dared even to draw 
near in an external, typical way. 



506 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

The priest thus was a type of Christ in His 
spotless purity, entering in, not once every year, 
but once for all, in the holy place. It was the 
blood of the sin-offering which the priest carried 
within the veil and sprinkled seven times before 
the mercy-seat, and once upon it : once is suffi- 
cient for the majesty of God, while there is a 
seven-fold perfection of standing for us by the 
sprinkled blood before the throne. 

The priest has entered in, and sprinkled the 
blood in God's presence ; he comes out now and 
makes atonement, as Scripture says, for all that 
has been in connection with the guilty people. 
All these things are typical of how the work of 
Christ brings nigh and makes possible God's 
dwelling with His people. 

But we must touch upon some essential truths 
connected with the value of the cross. First, there 
must be practical fitness in drawing near to God. 
This brings us to the truth of " the laver " which 
stands between the altar of burnt-offering and 
the tabernacle. The laver, filled with water, is 
first of all typical of the washing of new birth. 
It is utterly impossible for an unregenerate man 
to enter into God's presence. He could not be 
happy there. He needs, first of all, to be born 
again, though he may not necessarily learn it 
first. If one asks: How can I be sure that I have 
been born again, that I have passed from death 
unto life, and am fit for the presence of God ? 



The way of approach to God 507 

The simple answer is, Have you accepted Christ ? 
You remember our Lord's words in John 5: 24: 
" Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth 
My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, 
hath everlasting life, and shall not come into con- 
demnation, but is passed from death unto life." 
Thus the way is clearly stated. Christ being 
received by faith, we have passed out of death 
into life. We have had the washing of regenera- 
tion and the renewing of the Holy Ghost. This 
is the first great truth which the laver conveys. 

But not only does the laver speak of regenera- 
tion, which is once for all, but it speaks of the 
daily cleansing by the word of God, morally to 
fit us to enjoy His holy presence. 

We know too well that one who has entered the 
gate by faith in Christ, who knows the value of the 
sacrifice offered upon the brazen altar, who has 
had a knowledge of the rent veil and the mercy- 
seat, may allow the soil of this world, the corrup- 
tion of his own nature, to come in and hinder all 
his enjoyment. Alas, it is possible for a child 
of God to wander far from Him ; for the joy of 
communion to become a thing of the past; for 
the joy of holiness to be forgotten for the time, 
and the soul to be in that state where it cannot 
enjoy God, and yet cannot rest satisfied in the 
world, and in sin. There is a longing desire in the 
heart to turn again to God, to find His grace which 
once was known and rejoiced in. Thank Go4, 



508 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

He has provided for the restoration of His wan- 
dering children, even as He has provided for the 
salvation of the sinner at a distance from Him. 
The laver is the word of God which brings to 
mind our sin, which reminds tis of our alienation 
of heart: that holy Word is used by the Spirit 
of God to bring home our condition, to lead us 
to confess our sin, our wandering, and to turn 
to the God against whom we have sinned. We 
come then as children to a Father, owning that 
which has separated us in heart from Him, and 
we find how perfectly our Lord Jesus restores. 
If salvation is free, restoration is free. It means 
simply letting the Word search us and try us; it 
brings us into God's presence, there to own our 
condition, our wandering from Him. There, de- 
filement is confessed and judged ; that which had 
prevented our enjoyment of God is now gone and, 
with the freshness of first love restored, we can 
enter the tabernacle and enjoy ministry at the 
altar of incense. 

That brings us to the hanging at the tabernacle 
entrance, of which I have not yet spoken. What 
then is this gateway ? It speaks again of Christ. 
He is the Door. No matter where you are in your 
experience, Christ is always the next step. And 
so this hanging at the door of the tabernacle 
speaks to us of Christ, and declares that the only 
way for heavenly enjoyment and worship is 
through Christ. We have this emphasized for 



The way of approach to God 509 

us in the epistle to the Hebrews, ch. 13: 15, "By 
Him, therefore, let us offer the sacrifice of praise 
to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips, 
confessing His name." By Him we enter into the 
sanctuary practically, and enjoy its privileges. 

Look at it again for a moment. Christ, the 
gateway whereby a poor sinner comes to God; 
Christ, the doorway whereby a saint enters into 
the sanctuary; Christ, as the veil rent whereby 
we approach the presence of God and have bold- 
ness to stand before Him, 

That brings us to the last great truth of access, 
the truth of the altar of incense, on this straight 
line from the gate to the throne. I have already 
alluded to the fact that the altar of incense was 
not provided for until the priesthood had been 
spoken of. There could be no true worship of 
God apart from priestly service, so that it fits 
beautifully with what we are dwelling upon. We 
have seen how the cross of Christ has rent the 
veil that barred the way into the presence of God, 
and made the holy and most holy places into one 
grand chamber. ' In fact, that word in Hebrews 
is not merely "boldness to enter into the 
holiest," as though it were the inner sanctuary, 
but it is to enter into "the holy places," where 
God is manifested, enjoyed, and worshiped. As 
long as the veil was unrent, the altar of incense 
was outside the veil, but with the veil rent, it 
stands right before the mercy-seat; that shows 



510 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

what is our privileged place and occupation. 

The golden altar of incense is typical of the 
worship of the believer. You cannot be enjoying 
the presence of God without being a worshiper, 
and that is the service at the golden altar. The 
material for praise is Christ Himself. Our praise 
is not our happy feelings; not anything of our 
own that we bring to God ; but the worship we 
bring is the fragrance of Christ's precious name: 
and that not as the ground of our acceptance, 
but as that which is infinitely precious to God. 

Take the Lord's Day, for instance, with all its 
privileges; if we have been in communion with 
the Lord, gathered at His table with thanksgiv- 
ing and worship poured out unto Him, is it not 
deepest enjoyment ? But have we exhausted the 
theme ? Do we cease because we have had suffi- 
cient ? I am sure we would love to continue the 
out-pouring of worship with thanksgiving, con- 
fessing to God the preciousness of Christ. But 
being in the body, under limitations speedily 
reached, the special seasons of our united wor- 
ship are justly limited. But is there ever a limit 
to the preciousness of Christ to God ? Every- 
where and at all times we are privileged to be 
offering the sacrifice of praise unto God, "the 
fruit of our lips confessing His name." 

This spontaneous, free and full-hearted wor- 
ship settles the great question of what is the oc- 
cupation of heaven ? What is heaven ? Is it the 



The way of approach to God 511 

street of gold ? the river of water of life ? the mag- 
nificence of the place ? These are the outward 
display, the outward accompaniments of heaven. 
What is it that makes heaven actually that ? In 
one word, it is that "God and the Lamb " are 
there. It is access to God visibly, which now is 
only by faith. What is the occupation of heaven ? 
Joy and praise, surely, and a place for service as 
well. All our ransomed powers will be happily 
employed there. Perfect intelligence as well as 
perfect bodies will be fully in exercise. But what 
is it that gives fragrance to all there — that makes 
heaven the place of unsullied, unspeakable de- 
light ? It is that worship permeates it all. We 
still serve, and shall worship as we serve. We 
shall have communion and intercourse with one 
another, but all that will simply lead to fresh de- 
light and worship — not a distraction to turn from 
one occupation to another, but all rendered fra- 
grant by the sweet savor of Christ unceasingly. 

This is a test for our communion here. If 
heaven is such a place of worship, what about 
our life on earth ? Our hands may be employed 
— as they should be; we may have to do with 
men of the world, and all that, but underneath 
all, yes, connected with it all, is the sweet fra- 
grance of Christ to God, in connection with the 
faith of His saints in communion with Himself. 

Here, then, is approach to God. Would that 
one could speak more worthily of such a theme, 



512 Lectures on the Tabernacle 

but the truth of it is thus before us : Christ, the 
Truth, the Way, the Life; Christ the Way for 
the sinner in his sins, when he turns to God; 
Christ the Way for the saint to enjoy the privi- 
leges of communion. Christ by His death bring- 
ing us into the presence of God; Christ on the 
cross the foundation of our peace ; Christ as the 
laver to cleanse His disciples' feet, fitting them 
to enjoy that communion which God craves for 
all His people. 

Let it be a straight path for us ever. Let it 
be a beaten path for us as priests to enter the 
sanctuary of God with thanksgiving, praise, and 
worship; then out to the world with the word 
of invitation to our fellow-men, witnessing to 
them that they are as welcome to come as we 
ourselves, who have found a welcome to the bosom 
of Christ Himself ! 



INDEX 



A PAGE 

Aaron, 254, 311, 381, 443, 505 
Aaron's rod, ...240,254,327 

Abel, 29 

Abraham, 29, 50, 167, 208, 421 

Acacia (shittim wood), 23, 

24, 137, 138, 140, 177, 

219, 246, 292, 352, 353, 

408, 411, 412, 414, 473. 

Almond, ..258, 320, 330, 332 

Altar, 412; word for, 412 

Altar, Brazen, 24; metal 
covering it, 113 ; con- 
nected with golden al- 
tar, 378, 381; descrip- 
tion, 408 - 443 ; dimen- 
sions, 408 ; spiritual sig- 
nificance, 411 ; horns, 
423; way to God, 501; 
connected with mercy- 
seat 203 

Altar, Golden, 23, 292; 
description, 352 - 386 ; 
dimensions, 352; spirit- 
ual significance, 353, 

361, 510; place, 509 

Ananias and Sapphira, . . 492 

Angel of the Lord, 285 

Angels, 284 

Anointed, The 323 

Anointing of persons and 

things, 323-325 

Ark, ..23, 194, 240-266; 
crown of, 260,270; di- 
mensions, 241, 242; pri- 
mary purpose of, 244, 246 

Ashes, 409, 439-441 

Assurance of Salvation, .192 

B 
Badgers' skins, see Sealskins. 

Balaam, 255 

Baptismal regeneration, 459 
Barnabas, 211 



PAGE 

Bars, 136, 179, 197 

Bases, 445 

Basins, see Bowls.. 

Beast, The 108,256 

Bekah, 181 

Blood of sacrifice, 287, 288, 

361, 506 

Blue, ... 23, 24, 52-58, 91, 217 
Boards, ..23,24,135,137, 
179-193, 197-213 ; Cor- 
ner boards,. . . 135, 204-213 

Border of Altar, 409 

Border " of a hand- 
breadth," the table, 308, 

309, 311 

Bowls, 315, 409, 441 

Brass, 23, 113, 415, see 

Copper. 
Bread, see Loaves, Manna. 
Burnt-offering, see Altar 
of, and Offerings. 

c 

Cain, 255,317 

Cakes, pierced, 301, 400; 
see Loaves. 

Calamus, 395, 403, 404 

Calf, golden, 163 

Calf, Jeroboam's, 164 

Camel's hair, '. . 96 

Candlestick, 23, 292; des- 
cription, 319-351; no di- 
mensions given, 319, 

351, 471 

Cane, sweet; see Calamus. 
Captivity, seventy years/ 31 

Cassia, 397-399, 403, 404 

Cedar, 64, 138 

Censer, Aaron's, 381 

Censers, brazen, . . . .380, 443 

Censer, golden, 292, 359 

Chapiters, golden,. . .235, 238 
Chapiters, silver, . . .472, 483 



514 



Index 



PAGE 

Cherub, anointed, that cov- 

ereth, 286 

Cherubim, of ark, 240, 241, 
276-288 ; of curtains, 44, 
70; of Ezekiel, 44, 280- 
282, 286; derivation of 

word, 276 

Childhood of the Lord, 48, 49 

Church of God, 220-223 

Ruin of, 200 

" Unity of, 199 

Cinnamon, 392-395, 403, 404 
Clasps, see Taches. 
Cleansing, three views, . .456 
Colors, 52, see blue, pur- 
ple, scarlet, white. 
Commandments, Ten, 15, 

80, 86, see Law. 
Communion, 290, 463-465, 510 
Consecration of priests, 

116-118 
Copper, 24, 408, 415-421, 
447, 448, 472, 483, ....486 

Cornelius, 210 

Court, 23, 136, 472-495 

Jovering, word for, 271 

Coverings of Tabernacle, 

44, 72, 95, 114 

Covers, 315 

Creation, 281 

Crown of gold, golden al- 
tar, 352, 355; of ark, 
240, 260, 298; of table 
of showbread, 292, 298, 

307, 311 

Cubit, 74, 186, 402; half, . 

194, 241, 361; see Half. 
Curtains, Fine linen, of 
tabernacle, 24, 40-94 ; 
word for, 73, 74; dimen- 
sions ; of court, 472 ; see 
Hangings. 
Curtains, of Goats' hair, 
95-113; color of, 95; di- 
mensions, 107, 111 



D PAGE 

Daniel, 480 

Dathan and Abiram, 254, 255 
David, 50, 64, 279, 324, 

325, 336 

Day of Atonement,. .287, 455 
Death, 143, 146, 423; in 
respect to the Lord, 143, 

146-148 
Deity of Lord, 43, 57, 75, 
141, 142, 165-178, 243, 
270, 322, 351, 421, foot- 
note; denial of, 94; di- 
rect testimony to, 165- 
168, 170, 172-176, 414; 
types, 161, 165, 176, 224, 
242, 253, 271, 298, 322, 
353, 421, 448; see Na- 
tures, Two. 

Delivered people, 11 

Dependence of the Lord,. 73 
Devotedness of Christ, 

117-119, 124-127 

Dimensions, of Altar, braz- 
en, 408, 438, 442; altar, 
golden, 352, 358 ; ark, 
242; boards, 135, 193, 
194; border of table, 
309; court, 472; cur- 
tains, linen, 72, 75, 76, 
78; curtains of court, 
478 ; curtains, goats' 
hair, 107; gate, 494; 
mercy-seat, 274; table, 292 
Dimensions, No, Badger's 
skin covering, 133; can- 
dlestick, 351 ; laver, 445 ; 
rams' skins covering, 133 

Dishes, 315 

Door, 238, 493 

Dove, type of Spirit, 324; 
of the Lord, 401 

Dwelling-place of God, 21- 
39, 72, 473 



Index 



515 



t, PAGE 

Elijah, 97, 305, 306 

Elisha, 323 

Ephah, 402 

Ephod, Gideon's, 163 

Eternal punishment, see 
Punishment. 

Esau, 103 

Ezekiel, 307 



Faith, 189, 190 

Feet, beautiful, of our 

Lord, 130, 131 

Feet of ark, 262; of table, 

293 
Feet, see Washing. 
Fillets, golden, 236 ; of sil- 
ver, 472, 482, 483, 485 

Fine linen, 24, 25, 46-50, 

218-232, 472, 474-482 

Fire, 427-436 

" Strange, 378, 505 

Firepans, 409, 442 

Flagons, 315 

Flesh-hooks, 409, 441 

Flour, fine, 301, 323, 400 

Foot of laver, 444, 468 

Frankincense, 293, ..370-374 
Foundation, 180 



Galbanum, 368, 373 

Gate, 493, 499; dimen- 
sions, 494 

Gateways, three, 497 

Gerah, 181, 183 

Goats, 103 

Goats' hair curtains, 24, 

95-113; color, 95 

Grate of altar, 409-411, 

426, 433, 436 

God, word used for, . . . .166 
Godhead, Persons of, 166, 196 
Gold, 23, 25, 161-165, 219- 
243, 270-298, 315, 321, 
326, 339, 353, 416, 448; 
word used for, 161 



PAGE 

Goliath, 108, 418 

Gospels, Four, 45, 112, 
375; see Matthew, Mark, 
Luke, John. 



H 



Half, origin of word, 193, 

241; see Cubit, half. 
Hanging at door, 216,235-238 
" gate, 493, 494, 508, 

509 
Hangings of court, 472, 

474-490 

Heavenly city, 165 

Heavenly people, 53 

Hin, 194, 401, 402 

Hobab, 262 

Holiest, 216, 240, 292 

Holiness, 47, 474, 492; of 

the Lord, 47 

Holy place, 292 

Holy Spirit, 166, 324, 326, 
334-347, 399-401, 407, 
471; work of, 71, 339; 
testimony to believers, 
344; to the world, 346; 
types of, 399, 401, 325, 

335, 347 

Hooks, 93, see Taches. 

Hooks, golden for veil, 217, 
219; entrance hanging, 
235; silver, for court 
hangings, 472, 483, 484, 

493 

Horns, 115, 424, 425 

brazen altar, 352, 

360, 408, 424 

Horns, golden altar, 352, 360 

Humanity of the Lord, 42, 
43,48-71,75,77,79,94,95- 
113, 123-134, 137-150, 
187, 243, 247, 295, 301, 
322, 353, 411-414; two 
errors as to, 43; types 
of, acacia wood, 137 ; 



516 



Index 



PAGE 
linen curtains, 42, 78 
goats' hair curtains, 
107; coverings, 114 
veil, 233 ; ark, 243, 246 
manna, 253; table, 295 
golden altar, 353; braz- 
en altar, 411 

Hyssop, 9, 64 



Idols, 164,267-269,428 

Idolatry, 82, 163 

Incarnation, 75, 412-414 : 

see Humanity of the Lord. 

Incense, 353, 362-384 

Cloud of, 505 

Individuality of Believers, 

189-195, 205 

Isaac, 413 



Jacob, 102, lrj 

James, 211 

Jeremiah, 99 

.»oab 42b 

John, 54, 70, 209, 218 

" the Baptist, 96, 100, 

113, 224 

Joseph, 103, 162, 208, 413, 422 

Joshua, 304, 310, 311 

Judgment, Divine, 103,109, 
113, 272, 343, 420, 421, 
423 ; eternal, 431 ; of na- 
tions, 103; of sin, 420, 

427, 449, 450 

Judgment-seat of Christ, 
351, 449, 450 



K 



Kenosis, doctrine of,.... 173 
King, Christ as, ..59-64, 115 

Kingdom, 59 

Knowledge of God, 8 

Korah, Kebellion of, 255, 
380, 442 



L PAGE 

Lamp, 320, 322, 325, 326, 
347-350; Trimming of, 

347-349 
Laver, 24, 444-471, 506, 
512; foot of, 444, 468; 

origin of word, 444 

Law, ..15-17, 81-83, 259, 
272; book of, 259; 
claims of, 15-18; Christ's 
obedience to, 81-86, 92, 
93, 247, 248; two tables 
of, 83, 85, 240, 245, 250, 

260 

Lawyer, rich young, 88 

Leaves, covering of, .... 120 

Leprosy, 98 

Loaf, one, 303 

Loaves, twelve, 302, 303, 

307, 311 

Loops, 90, 91 

Lot, 29 

Luke, 51, 70, 219; see Gospels. 



M 



Manna, 14, 250-253, 260; 
golden pot of, 240, 250, 
253, 259; hidden, 253, 471 
Mark, 64-67, 218; see Gospels. 

Materials used, 24 

Matthew, 59-64, 218; see 

Gospels. 
Measures of Scripture, . .402 
Mercy-seat, 23, 240, 261; 
contrast to idols, 265, 
266 ; description, 265- 
291; word for, 271; di 
mensions, 274; spiritual 
significance, 288, 289, 

290, 509 

Messiah, 323 

Mirrors, 447, 451-453 

Moses, 208, 216, 245, 311 

Myrrh, 387-392, 403 

Myrtle, 138 

Mystery of Godliness, 223-228 



Index 



517 



N PAGE 

Nadab and Abihu, . .378, 505 

Nard, 367 

Natures, two, of the Lord 

not to be separated, 57, 

77, 354, 421 

Nazarite, 98, 99 

Nebuchadnezzar, 31, 108, 164 

New birth, 461 

Nicodemus 231 

Noah, 167 

Numbers in Scripture, 76, 

81, 242 

One, 197, 202, 242, 358, 

403; 

Two, 189, 191, 242, 286, 

297, 298, 361, 404; 

Three, 202, 242, 274, 

297, 298, 426; 

Four, 76, 77, 79, 86, 107, 
111, 197, 234, 242, 297, 

298, 358, 360, 423, 424; 
Five, 72, 80, 84, 88, 92, 
107, 111, 197, 236, 242, 
274, 403, 423, 479; 

Six, 108, 112, 202; 

Seven, 78, 79, 320, 351; 

Eight, 202; 

Ten, 72, 80, 81, 135, 181, 

186, 194, 215, 474; 

Twelve, 302-304, 306, 

307; 

Twenty, 136, 494; 

Thirty, 107, 195; 

Forty, 476; 

Fifty, 72, 92, 93, 135, 

472; 

One hundred, 136, 215, 472 

o 

Obedience, 314 ; Christ's, 
81-86, 92, 93, 127, 247, 
see Law ; to parents, . . 84 



PAGE 
Offering, burnt, 115, 116, 
121, 134, 194, 381, 436; 
drink, 194; free-will, 24, 
25; meat, 323; peace, 
116; sin, 104, 105, 107, 
116, 120, 122, 134, 436, 
455, 505; trespass, 104, 

116 

Oil, 24; domestic uses, 

322; sacred uses, 323, 

324; anointing, 387-407; 

type of Spirit, 399; 

quantity used, 405 

Ointment, 400, 407 

Olive, 138 

Omer, 252 

Onycha, 366, 373 

Onyx, 366 

Passover, 16, 413, 429 

Paul, 211 

Pearl of great price, . . . 184 

Pelagians, 140 

Pentecost, 197, 345 

Peter, ....199, 209, 210, 211 

Philip, 209 

Pillars of veil, 179, 216, 
219-223, 234, 235; of 
door, 24, 179, 235, 236; 
of court, 24, 472, 483, 

485, 487; word for, 220 

Pins, 473 

Pots, 408, 439 

Praises, 8, 361, 382 ; Christ 
as Leader, 383 ; true 

spirit, 385, 386 

Precious Stones, 24 

Priest, the Lord as, 257, 
383, 506 ; priestly work, 
348, 382, 383, 447, 512; 
Christians as priests, 
382, 512 

P 

Profanity, 82 

Prophet, The Lord as, 97- 
102, 106, 11G; work of, 
99, 100 



518 



Index 



PAGE 

Punishment, eternal, 423, 
429, 434; future, ..428-430 

Purchased people, 10 

Purple, . . .24, 58-63, 218, 232 

R 

Ram, as offering, 115-117; 
of consecration, 116 ; 
rams' skins covering, 

24, 114-127 

Rebecca, 162 

Redemption, by blood, 27, 
184, 185 ; redemption 

money, 179-186 

Red Heifer, 64, 123, 145, 455 

Red Sea, 16 

Religions, of men., — .28,39 

Reproach of Christ, 482 

Rest of God, 20 

Resurrection, 149, 257, 

258, 330-332, 426 

Reuben, 254 

Revelation of God, 8 

Righteousness of Lord, 47, 
475, 485 ; practical, 476- 

481; imputed, 121 

Ring, Luke 15, 128 

Rings, gold, of boards,179, 
196 ; corner boards, 207- 
213; of ark, 240, 261; 
of table, 293, 316, 317; 
of golden altar, 352,358, 
360 ; of brazen altar,437,438 
Robe, best, 128; seamless, 92 

Rock, 15 

Rod, see Aaron. 

Rods, silver, 472, 483, 484; 

see Fillets. 
Romans, Epistle to, strug- 
gle of 7th chapter, .... 17 

S 

Sabbath, 21, 83, 249 

Sackcloth, 96, 97 

Salt, 362, 374 



PAGE 
Samuel, 99 

Sanctification, 340, 370 

Sapphire, /. 52, 57 

Satan, 28, 109, 158, 286, 

427 

Scapegoat, 104, 455 

Scarlet, 24, 58, 64-69, 218, 233 
Sea, brazen, 445 ; of glass, 

470, 47L 

Seaiskin, 127-134 

Security of believer, 189, 

195, 206, 357 

Separation, 98, 99, 208, 

311-313 

Seraphim, 283 

Sermon on Mount, 59 

Serpent, brazen, ...417, 419 

Seven-sealed book, 109 

Sheep, 103, 105 

Shekel, 180, 402; of sanc- 
tuary, 181, 402 

Shekinah glory, 31, 35 

Sheltered people, 9 

Shiloh, 30 

Shittim wood, see Acacia. 
Showbread, 293, 294, 301- 
307; table, 23, 292-318, 
471 ; dimensions, 295, 
297; crowns, 292, 298, 
301,307,311; border,308-311 

Shoes, 128 

Silver, 23, 25, 179, 180, 

219, 415, 483 

Sin-offering, see offering. 
Sin-bearer, Lord as, 70, 

105, 112, 421, 433 

Skin of offering, 119-122 

Snuffers, 349; snuff-dishes, 

351 
Sockets, brazen, 23; of en- 
trance pillars, 236; of 
court, 472,483,486,490; 
silver, 23 ; of boards,135, 
179-186, 190, 215; of 

veil, 217, 219, 222 

Sodom, 428 

Solomon, 30, 425 



Index 



519 



PAGE 

Songs of degress, 386 

Spices, 24, 149, see Cassia, 
Calamus, Cinnamon, 
Myrrh, Stacte, Onycha, 
Galbanum, Frankincense. 

Spikenard, 395 

Spirits, Seven, 471; see 
Holy Spirit. 

Spoons, 315 

Spotlessness of the Lord, 

49-51 

Stacte, 364, 365, 373 

Standing in Christ, 187, 220 
Staves of ark. 261, 263; 
table, 293, 316; golden 
altar, 352-385, 386; braz- 
en altar, 409-411 

Stephen, 208 

Substitutionary work, 145, 

148, 432 

Suffering of the Lord, 68, 

70, 157, 433, 434, 437 

Sympathy of the Lord, 143, 

434 
Sympathy with sin, 155 

T 

Tabenu cle, 26, 30 ; taber- 
nacle proper,72, 95, 114 ; 
four- fold figure, 41, 42; 
origin of word 26; di- 
mensions, 195; see Tent. 

Table, see Showbread. 

Taches, golden, 83, 93, 94, 
217; brazen, 113 

Talent, gold, 319; silver,. 215 

Temple, 30-32, 35, 75, 138, 
165, 195, 445, 471; of 
His body, 33; spiritual, 
34; future, 36, 75, 195 

Temptations, of our Lord, 
151-160; two aspects,.. 160 

Ten commandments, 15, 85,86 



PAGE 

Tenons, 189-192 

Tent, over the Tabernacle, 

73, 95, 114 

Throne of God, 41, 279, 

291, 347, 504 

Transfiguration, 124, 199, 310 
Trespass offering,. . .104, 116 

u 

Unity, of Church, 199, 303, 
307; outward,213; Rome, 
213; Israel, 304-307 

Unitarianism, 380 

v 

Veil, 83, 179; materials, 
216,217; word for, 217; 
significance, 219, 228- 
234, 236, 503, 509 

w 

Washings, in Old Test., 
454-456; in New Test., 
457, 458; of f eet, .. 463-466 

Water, 458-461 

Weights of Scripture, 402, 

403 

Wheels of Cherubim, 281 

White, 218 

Wind, north and south, . . 486 
Wood, see Acacia. 
Word of God, 71, 236, 237, 
259, 339, 375, 448, 449, 
453, 468; Lord's subjec- 
tion to, 57; Lord as, 166, 
448, 449; types of, 236, 
448, 451, 459; reading 

of, 468 

Worm, scarlet, 65 

Worship, 361, 398, 510 

Wrath of God, 432 



; 



